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THE EUROPEAN NETWORK OF
OLDER-VOLUNTEER ORGANISATIONS
Actively promoting volunteering by older people across Europe
SENIORPARTNER IN SCHOOL
The Berlin-based organisation Seniorpartner in School (SiS) is a committed supporter of ENOVO. It represent the aims and objectives of ENOVO by having established and extensively developed a project where older volunteers can both provide useful support for those in the schools who require it, while simultaneously allowing the volunteers to derive great benefit from the work they are doing.
The idea behind SiS is to train senior citizens as school mediators in accordance with the rules of the German Federation of Mediators and to draw up contracts with
schools so that mediation can be offered within the school day. The scheme was piloted in two schools during 2001 and 160 senior partners are now active in 30 schools in Berlin. The project is currently being introduced in seven other German federal states.
Senior partners must qualify as school mediators by taking part in a certified training course lasting 80 hours. They undertake supervision every six weeks and must always work in pairs. Participating schools have to provide a dedicated room.
SiS shows how to resolve conflicts peacefully and contributes to raising the standard of pupils’ performance. It helps older and younger people learn from each other and enhances the image of older people in society. Older people gain from voluntary engagement with younger ones because such activities help to promote a positive outlook on life.
SiS plays an active role in promoting the senior-partner concept by participating in various European Commission funded partnerships. As a result, other European countries are increasingly interested in intergenerational work in schools. Through a new learning partnership, SiS is associated with Intergen in the United Kingdom, OFECUM in Spain, Mátyásfa Körnnyezezvédö Egyesület in Hungary and with the Projektebüro Dialog der Generationen in Germany.