Author: admi_bpro

Final Conference in Bologna

Date: 24 November 2023

On November 24, 2023, the final conference of the European project BONDING took place at the Department of Education Sciences of the University of Bologna. Financed by the Erasmus+ program, the project aimed to create meaningful connections between generations to combat the growing loneliness among the elderly.

The conference, which attracted the attention of 22 participants, began with a warm welcome from Professor Elena Luppi of the University of Bologna and Licia Boccaletti, the president of the social cooperative “Anziani e Non solo” of Carpi. The event, held from 9:00 to 12:00, provided an in-depth look at the results and initiatives of the BONDING project.

Dr. Rosita Deluigi, associate professor of General and Social Pedagogy at the University of Macerata, opened the conference with a presentation titled “The loneliness of the elderly: the impact of COVID-19.” Her intervention emphasized the urgency of addressing the issue of loneliness, particularly exacerbated by the pandemic.

Subsequently, project coordinator from PCG Poland presented the BONDING project, with a detailed focus on the background, objectives, and target groups. Partners from “Anziani e Non solo” then illustrated the project’s main results, presenting crucial tools such as the mapping of the Befriending landscape at the European level, the BONDING E-learning course – Youth Befriending Elderly, the awareness-raising toolkit, and the Befriending networking platform.

A moment of particular significance was dedicated to the BONDING Hubs developed in Cyprus, presented by Elena Xeni, a representative of the Cardet association. The Hubs represent a tangible contribution to the project, offering a replicable model to combat elderly loneliness at the community level.

Finally, Dr. Sara Santini, a researcher at INRCA, concluded the conference with a presentation titled “Active Aging and Intergenerationality.” Her intervention highlighted the importance of active involvement of the elderly in society and the value of connections between different generations.

The conference concluded with greetings and a conclusion by Professor Elena Luppi, emphasizing the importance of the BONDING project in advancing its mission to combat loneliness through meaningful connections between generations.

Final Partners Meeting

Date: 23 November 2023

On 23/11/2023 consortium of Bonding project met in Bologna to finalize all project activities. Partners planned last PR4 activities and discussed final financial reporting, dissemination activities and quality assurance issues. Partners also discussed details of organization of final conference. 

The second Transnational partners meeting

Date: 2 March 2022

The second Transnational partners meeting took place on 2nd of March 2022 in Valladolid, Spain. At the meeting the partners focused on the final preparations for the e-course and planning of the piloting and mentoring activities. After the successful completion of the course, the learners will have an opportunity to sign up for the Mentorship support from the partner organisation from their country in the process of establishing their befriending services.
By initiating, organising and providing voluntary befriending services to elderly people, young people make an important expression of active citizenship, and contribute to building social capital, cohesion and solidarity in their communities

LTT C1 training

Date: 28 November 2022-01 December 2022

Participants from all partners countries (Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Macedonia Poland and Spain) met in Carpi for this training and had a very fruitful week full of knowledge, interactive activities, and new skills. More specifically, they were introduced to the concept of the project. The aim of this training was to equip the project staff with the needed knowledge, attitudes, skills and tools to successfully mentor young people in establishing their befriending services for elderly. By the end of the training, the participants had: solid understanding of the aims and the process of mentoring;Strengthened skills for building and maintaining an effective mentoring relationship with youth.Participants of this training were members of the BONDING project team who are involved in the provision of Mentoring Support to young people interested in setting up a befriending service for elderly after having successfully completed the e-learning course Youth Befriending Elderly (R2).

Kick off Meeting

Date: 24 January 2022

Virtual meeting

During the meeting, partners introduced the participating organisations and offered their views on the aims and objectives of the project. A fruitful discussion was developed for the next steps and deadlines and everyone shared valuable feedback and clarifications on questions and misunderstandings before concluding to common understandings, procedures and plans for the future.