COBLAGE partners (Instituto Politécnico de Viseu and Universidade de Vigo ) at the 𝐈𝐈𝐈 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

From September 27th to 29th, in the Xúres mountains (on the border between Portugal and Spain), professors and students participated in educational activities focused on intergenerationality, the environment, and social intervention.
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here was also time for a community dinner , attended by local villagers, and a hike to take in the stunning landscape.

What a week it has been!

Our conjoint partners' training has allowed us to delve deeper into our work and not only fine-tune our upcoming result 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗕𝗟 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 but also to properly set the stage for 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻, 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗘 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 and 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆-𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀, 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀’ 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀.
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During our training, we were also happy to visit an Intergenerational center in Ourense which houses in the same building a nursery school and a day center for senior adults in order to promote personal autonomy and the prevention of dependency.

How can we create the proper framework to prepare HE students and involve communities to be active in preparing a better future for our ageing population?

During the 25th to 27th of June the CoblAges partners are meeting in Ourense, Spain for the first conjoint staff training to tackle this challenge.

Hosted by the University of Vigo, the partners will be working on harmonizing the CoblAges methodology for using CBL (Community Based Learning) as a tool for Intergenerational Citizenship in preparing higher education students for an ageing world. This will also set up the foundation for the other resources developed within our initiative.

The first day was full of insights and rich in dynamic activities and the partners had the opportunity to visit the Lodoselo community center. Lodoselo is a center for people, for the rural community, where people are an active part and not just recipients of services.
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Keep following us to learn more about our efforts and activities and progress during the training.

Galicia, a community in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, with approximately 3 million inhabitants, has a highly aged population, especially in rural areas, distributed in numerous centres, many of which only live older people. These are villages that are condemned to disappear in a short period of time, due to the lack of generational change.

Boys and girls who are not born in that territory will hardly choose to move to live in that rural environment, unless the dynamics are reversed with clear commitments to promoting a dignified life in rural areas, through the contact of new generations with the cultural heritage kept in the memory of older people, and whose transmission was carried out almost exclusively orally.

It is urgent to recover spaces for intergenerational coexistence, favouring the presence of older people in educational and play spaces for children, and educational projects for children and youth, in spaces usually occupied by older people (community premises, day centres, community housing...)

This need has also been acknowledged within all CoblAges partners' countries and thus we have joined forces to develop resources in order to integrate community-based learning into higher education and equip students to be better prepared to address the challenges of an ageing world.

​We are thrilled to share that the first in person CoblAges Partners Meeting has concluded in Viseu, Portugal!

CoblAges seeks to promote intergenerational cooperation between older and younger people in the context of an ageing population. The project aims to help higher education teachers, community managers, and student representatives to be better prepared to tackle the challenges of an ageing population.
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Stay tuned for updates as we continue our mission to promote intergenerational cooperation and create a brighter future for all!