CIVIL SOCIETY: 269 PRACTICES
People Behind is a nonprofit organization founded in 2017 in Athens, Greece. Our mission is the empowerment and activation of people 65+ through life-long learning, digital education, intergenerational solidarity and volunteerism. People Behind’s team envisions a society for all ages, a world where no one is left behind.
The University for Third Age is a program of activation and empowerment for people over 65, which responds to the lack of activation alternatives for older people in Greece. It is designed in accordance with the European directives for the promotion of Healthy and Active Aging and aims to improve mental psychological and social well-being of people 65+. It offers a variety of workshops, through which participants gain knowledge, exchange thoughts and experiences, practice their body and mind and socialize. In addition, through their participation in the program, the beneficiaries get in touch with younger generations and they share experience and knowledge but also learn the trends and new technologies from the younger generation as well as develop their creative thinking and imagination.
The University for Third Age targets women and men over 65. Until now, more than 400 people from all over Greece have participated in the program, most of them being women.
It started in early 2020 and continues.
The implementation of the program started in January 2020 with live workshops in Athens. Due to the spread of Covid-19 all activities were transferred online. From October 2020 until today, the University for Third Age operates through an e-learning platform, where the beneficiaries have the opportunity to read notes, complete exercises and quizzes for each course and connect to the weekly meeting with the lecturer. The workshops are implemented on a weekly basis and the main topics are: Gymnastics, Computers, Mental Empowerment, History, Philosophy, Art History, Theater, Cooking, Literature, Creative Writing.
The University of the Elderly in numbers until the end of 2021:
• 408 people over 65 years old I became active
• 471 hours of activation through weekly meetings
• 15 different activation options / themed workshops for the beneficiaries
• 25% beneficiaries outside Attica
The quality results of the program are best described through the words of the beneficiaries:
"Every Thursday I waited how and how our meeting. I was studying the material you gave us every time and I was looking forward to learning more. Every time I saw a painting in the Art History workshop I was looking for the truth of each era and this process, I think, made me a little better."
"Through the Digital Empowerment workshop I managed to get on YouTube, listen to nice old songs, click on "new tab", sign up for Facebook, post, email, order food online. But mostly I learned to be patient. I overcame what happened to me in my life because I went to the University of the Elderly. I felt that I was not alone. "Now I'm able to help others and I say ... finally, life is good."
The program is implemented online, due to Covid-19. The participants come from different regions of Greece - even from abroad.
The University for Third Age operates with the contribution of external collaborators and lecturers for the workshops. In this context, NGO Iasis has implemented the “Consulting psychology” workshop and Electra Social Company the “Creative Writing” workshop.
For the implementation of the program, 1 employee of People Behind works fully and partially 2 more employees, who undertake the Administration and Communication. From the beginning of the program until today, 14 external collaborators have collaborated as lecturers / animators with People Behind as well as 4 volunteers.
Through the University for Third Age People Behind has expanded the beneficiaries’ data base and has developed a stable relationship with them. Through the every-day contact with the target group of the organization, People Behind’s team can better record their real needs and design even better and targeted programs. The daily contact with the beneficiaries has also developed the skills of our team to intervene directly in solving problems and to work flexibly to meet the needs of the participants.
One of the most important benefits for People Behind is the experience the team has gained in educating a specific group of adults, people 65+, who have very specific needs, expectations and behaviors. Furthermore, the online shift of the program has enabled the organization to develop actions for beneficiaries outside Attica, with a scope to expand to even more areas of Greece.
Finally, due to its innovative nature for Greece- in Europe the University for Third Age has been operating since 1970- the program, at its beginning in 2020, attracted the interest of the media, giving People Behind the opportunity to strengthen its image and recognizability to the general public.
