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INtgenerational and inTERcultural interACTion promotes social inclusion and solidarity
Start date: Aug 1, 2016, End date: Jul 31, 2018 PROJECT  FINISHED 

INTERACT is the new EVS project proposed by Cooperativa Margherita, a social enterprise which manages different activities on the territory of Sandrigo (Italy) in favour of disadvantaged children and youth, elderly people and people with disabilities. This project, which capitalizes the results of the previous ones, has been designed considering the needs identified on the territory where the Cooperative operates to reach two specific objectives. The first is to promote the intergenerational dialogue allowing the INTERACTion between youth and elderly with Alzheimer -or other cognitive problems- proposing also new innovative activities. This will include fostering the interaction between elderly people and the other users of the Cooperative’s centres, as the children in need of special protection (including immigrants or descendant from immigrant families), disadvantaged youth and people with disabilities. Secondly, the project aims at promoting active citizenship and social inclusion of marginalized youth on the territory.The project will involve 3 young volunteers from Greece, Spain and Germany giving them the possibility to measure themselves, performing activities in support of Margherita’s direct beneficiaries for different periods of time, ranging from 11 to 12 months, starting in December 2016. They will be involved in the services managed by the Cooperative, sharing daily life with the centres users and promoting various activities on the territory. They will be guided by the Tutors in participating and managing laboratories, workshops and learning activities; but they will also share simple moments, as the lunch and free time, directly with the users. The Tutors will share our unique methodology based on the principle of “Domiciliarity” (home-care), which means to recognize the importance of the family and the whole context within which each user has been grown up and in which he/she still lives. This implies the involvement of the family in planning and developing each individual project, to allow the best combination between the fragile daily routine of the users and the surrounding society and environment.They volunteers will collaborate in realizing laboratories, workshops and other activities but, most of all they will be INTERACTing and creating relationships with the users of the centres and the youth of the territory. They will be the promoters of the intergenerational and intercultural interaction, and will represent a great enrichment for all the people involved and the services of the Cooperative itself. Moreover, for the whole duration of the project, they will play an important role, since they will provide external cultural inputs in building up the daily programs and activities, sharing ideas and proposals and implementing their organizing-skills. This because, with “INTERACT” Cooperativa Margherita wants to enhance the participation of the youth volunteers in social activities fostering their proactivity too.It is worth mentioning that the volunteers will have the opportunity to experiment the open environment of the Cooperative, which along time has become a centre of cultural and social promotion for the territory. They will have the opportunity to create events, laboratories and workshops involving the users of the centres and the citizens, experimenting what it means to be part of the society in a careful and active way, getting involved into what concerns the Cooperative itself and the Community life.The project will affect the volunteers as they will acquire new skills and competencies and at the same time, there will be positive effects on the users of Margherita’s centres, as they will be touched by another culture and perspective enjoying new relations. Furthermore, our expected result is that the participation of the volunteers will help improving the way we work every day, proposing new ways of operating towards Cooperative’s target groups. For sure, the international and European dimension of Margherita’s work will be broadened and enhanced, including all the members of the community on our territory. In fact, the project will promote common European Values of tolerance, solidarity and diversity stimulating a dialogue between the local community and Europe.Within “INTERACT” the different languages, cultures and background will be mixed together with the specific care tools volunteers will learn from the contact with the users. There will be a contamination between the style of the Cooperative and those of newcomers. Our biggest hope is that the project, with the collaboration and the precious help of the volunteers, will allow the birth of new ways of responding to the needs of marginalized people. Specifically, finding new innovative ways of interaction between youth and elders as well as other people in need, adapting our services and proposed activities to the changing society.

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