Grannies.lv - INFORMATION IN ENGLISH
The NGO from LATVIA (non-governmental organisation, association) Grannies.lv ("Vecmāmiņas.lv") (registration No 40008178937) was established in 2011 with the aim to unite active seniors and work in the field of adult education, encouraging seniors to become active citizens and engage in lifelong learning activities.
The main goals of the association "Grannies.lv" are to educate seniors, exchange knowledge and experience, as well as to actively participate in civic activities, charity campaigns and volunteering.
The objectives of the association are:
- Charity, alternative social care services;
- Protection of human and individual rights;
- Development of civil society;
- Health promotion, social rehabilitation;
- Promoting education,
- Improving the social well-being of the poor and socially vulnerable groups
NGO Grannies.lv offers a wide range of social and physical activity opportunities to its members, provides information and counselling in crisis situations, with a special focus on cases related to domestic violence. The activities of the association contribute to the integration of socially excluded age groups into society and to the promotion of volunteer activities in Latvia. The members of Grannies.lv are able-bodied physical persons who have reached the age of majority, submitted an application to become a member (approved questionnaire form), undertake to comply with the statutes and work actively in the implementation of its objectives.
The main goals of the association "Grannies.lv" are to educate seniors, exchange knowledge and experience, as well as to actively participate in civic activities, charity campaigns and volunteering.
The objectives of the association are:
- Charity, alternative social care services;
- Protection of human and individual rights;
- Development of civil society;
- Health promotion, social rehabilitation;
- Promoting education,
- Improving the social well-being of the poor and socially vulnerable groups
NGO Grannies.lv offers a wide range of social and physical activity opportunities to its members, provides information and counselling in crisis situations, with a special focus on cases related to domestic violence. The activities of the association contribute to the integration of socially excluded age groups into society and to the promotion of volunteer activities in Latvia. The members of Grannies.lv are able-bodied physical persons who have reached the age of majority, submitted an application to become a member (approved questionnaire form), undertake to comply with the statutes and work actively in the implementation of its objectives.
Work continues on the Senior Award programme
The association Grannies.lv (Vecmāmiņas.lv) together with partners from Lithuania, Slovenia, Bulgaria and the Netherlands continues to work on the Erasmus Plus KA 2 project. A study on senior volunteering in the participating countries has been carried out, examples of good practice have been compiled, a website and a resource library have been created. In the brochure "Volunteering in Old Age ? Why not?" Ilona Kviesīte and Maira Magreca from Latvia also talk about their experiences. Gunita Poldme and Ludmila Dārziņa from Latvia share their experiences of participating in the test programme.
The Senior Award programme is currently being developed. This will be an opportunity for seniors to volunteer and be recognised for their contribution to society. In addition, a Manual for Adult educators on how to run the Senior Award Program is also being developed. Each country is preparing one training module. Latvia is preparing a module on motivating seniors to volunteer. You can follow the project on the website -https://gogetaward.eu/, or on the Latvian project's Facebook group - GoGet Award Latvia! And what is your story as a senior volunteer? We invite you to follow and get involved! Erasmus Plus KA 2 project „Keep going, reach goals, get an award: empowering senior volunteerism”, No 2020-1-L01-KA204-077966 Information prepared by Ināra Pučuka, Chairperson of the Board of Vecmāmiņas.lv 1.04.2022. |
Meeting in Slovenia
Interview - Meeting in Slovenia.
Ināra Pučuka, Chair of the Board of Grannies.lv (Vecmāmiņas.lv), shares her impressions about the meeting in Slovenia. Interviewed by Evija Dzvinko.
- Tell us what you did in Slovenia, what was the meeting like?
- It was a meeting, a working meeting of the partners of our project on volunteers (Erasmus Plus KA 2).
- What did you do there , what did you decide?
- We decided that there is still a lot to do, although a lot has already been done. We looked at what has been done and what are the mistakes and what needs to be improved. Dates were decided and deadlines were set, and which country we were going to do what. An important and responsible job now is to interview and find 15 educators and to work more actively with 20 senior volunteers on the evaluation of the Senior Awards programme. And we also have to prepare for the next meeting in the Netherlands, which will be a learning experience, and especially for the meeting to be held in Latvia this autumn, which is a big responsibility for us.
- What is the general mood at the moment?
- I think that face-to-face meetings like this are very valuable. It stimulates and energises us to act and to do. We can compare how others are doing, how we are doing. And what maybe needs to be done differently. These private contacts are also important, humanly, and that also means a lot. And I think it was very, very valuable.
- Was it just a working meeting or did you see something else?
- There were also educational excursions, cultural programme activities . All this will remain in the memory and enrich us in our senior years. I think it is valuable. This project is very, very good.
- Thank you!
Meeting in Slovenia
On 12 and 13 April 2022, representatives of Grannies.lv (Vecmāmiņas.lv ) Ināra Pučuka and Rita Liepiņa went to the Erasmus Plus KA 2 project meeting in Ljubljana, Slovenia, to meet our partners from the Slovenian Third Age University. This was the twelfth meeting of the project, but only the second one in person. The main theme of the project is senior volunteering and in support of this a Senior Award Programme is being set up to help organisations keep track of hours of service in a common system and to award seniors with gold, silver or bronze. The Senior Volunteer Management Handbook is currently being finalised. A similar Handbook will be produced for the adult educators who will work with the programme. Our project partners are from Slovenia, Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Lithuania (coordinator, Kaunas University of the Third Age). We plan to pilot the developed materials by autumn, hold a training activity in the Netherlands and the last project meeting in Latvia in autumn.
The activities of the project are presented on the website --https://gogetaward.eu , on the website of the association Grannies.lv -http://erasmuspluska1prague.weebly.com/go-get-award-latvia.html , as well as in the Facebook groups - GoGetAwardLatvia and Empowering Senior Volunteering.
The meeting took place in Ljubljana, at the European Union House. Afterwards, we went on an exchange trip to Ajdovscina, where we met local seniors and also watched their puppet theatre programme. In our free time, we explored the most beautiful places in Slovenia - the white horses of Lipica, Lake and Castle Bled, the castles of Ljubljana and Predjama and the Postojna Caves.
Ināra Pučuka, Chair of the Board of Grannies.lv (Vecmāmiņas.lv), shares her impressions about the meeting in Slovenia. Interviewed by Evija Dzvinko.
- Tell us what you did in Slovenia, what was the meeting like?
- It was a meeting, a working meeting of the partners of our project on volunteers (Erasmus Plus KA 2).
- What did you do there , what did you decide?
- We decided that there is still a lot to do, although a lot has already been done. We looked at what has been done and what are the mistakes and what needs to be improved. Dates were decided and deadlines were set, and which country we were going to do what. An important and responsible job now is to interview and find 15 educators and to work more actively with 20 senior volunteers on the evaluation of the Senior Awards programme. And we also have to prepare for the next meeting in the Netherlands, which will be a learning experience, and especially for the meeting to be held in Latvia this autumn, which is a big responsibility for us.
- What is the general mood at the moment?
- I think that face-to-face meetings like this are very valuable. It stimulates and energises us to act and to do. We can compare how others are doing, how we are doing. And what maybe needs to be done differently. These private contacts are also important, humanly, and that also means a lot. And I think it was very, very valuable.
- Was it just a working meeting or did you see something else?
- There were also educational excursions, cultural programme activities . All this will remain in the memory and enrich us in our senior years. I think it is valuable. This project is very, very good.
- Thank you!
Meeting in Slovenia
On 12 and 13 April 2022, representatives of Grannies.lv (Vecmāmiņas.lv ) Ināra Pučuka and Rita Liepiņa went to the Erasmus Plus KA 2 project meeting in Ljubljana, Slovenia, to meet our partners from the Slovenian Third Age University. This was the twelfth meeting of the project, but only the second one in person. The main theme of the project is senior volunteering and in support of this a Senior Award Programme is being set up to help organisations keep track of hours of service in a common system and to award seniors with gold, silver or bronze. The Senior Volunteer Management Handbook is currently being finalised. A similar Handbook will be produced for the adult educators who will work with the programme. Our project partners are from Slovenia, Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Lithuania (coordinator, Kaunas University of the Third Age). We plan to pilot the developed materials by autumn, hold a training activity in the Netherlands and the last project meeting in Latvia in autumn.
The activities of the project are presented on the website --https://gogetaward.eu , on the website of the association Grannies.lv -http://erasmuspluska1prague.weebly.com/go-get-award-latvia.html , as well as in the Facebook groups - GoGetAwardLatvia and Empowering Senior Volunteering.
The meeting took place in Ljubljana, at the European Union House. Afterwards, we went on an exchange trip to Ajdovscina, where we met local seniors and also watched their puppet theatre programme. In our free time, we explored the most beautiful places in Slovenia - the white horses of Lipica, Lake and Castle Bled, the castles of Ljubljana and Predjama and the Postojna Caves.