Thanks a lot for the help

A nationwide project focused on social inclusion and intergenerational cooperation in the field of new media and information and communication technologies, entitled THANKS A LOT FOR THE HELP, brings seniors and young people together in a unique way. In the period from October 2020 to April 2021, he brought 64 interactive workshops to selected towns and villages in Slovakia.

The world of new media and information and communication technologies is an area that the vast majority of citizens have a natural respect for. Our goal is to inspire them in a very untraditional and original way, to gain their sympathy and trust, and then to bring this world closer to them in a very human, empathic and cheerful way and to show how its achievements can make many things easier in life. The project in the form of free interactive workshops brings solutions and motivation for seniors how to get out of social isolation and at the same time reflects on their need for self-realization. Thanks to the workshops, seniors learn basic skills in the field of new media and information and communication technologies in a playful and entertaining way, and at the same time gain a new wind in their sails, courage and motivation on the way to further implementation. This is how the coordinator Martin Michalica from the civic association Šedý medveď explains the purpose of the project: “Feedback showed us how extremely important and beneficial it was to implement distance forms of non-formal education for the mental health of seniors during a long period of social isolation due to pandemic constraints. The jointly created online magazines also brought joy, thanks to which seniors, as full-fledged reporters, can create for their online magazine and map all events in their region.“

Social inclusion brings other invaluable values, including the increased quality of interpersonal relationships or the prevention of crime against the elderly. Thanks to its setting and mechanics, the project helps and contributes to the creation of 64 partnerships between civic organizations and public sector entities in the field of providing services to vulnerable groups throughout the course.

They said about the project:

“Through its creative events, the DIKY MOC ZA POMOC project, with its creative events, brought a new wind into the sails of our still active seniors. I myself am positively surprised by the enthusiasm with which they embarked with their “mobile phones” on a great adventure, thanks to which they can share their experiences, ideas, talents, knowledge with the young generation. We were very interested in continuing the next meetings. However, the coronavirus prevented this and we were forced to literally “day by day” suspend our activities due to quarantine measures and the safety of our seniors. Therefore, I was very positively surprised by the information that even during this challenging period, the DIKY MOC ZA POMOC project continues its mission and continues to work with seniors, at least through telephone and online communication. Based on the feedback from our seniors, I can say that they were very satisfied and enjoyed the way the young teachers paid attention to them and what they gradually learned. The project also brought us a free technological solution, a separate online platform for our own online magazine KOMUCE. The acquired skills, aroused interest in new media and social networks in an interesting combination with the basics of audiovisual production, made our seniors confident creators who will be able to add new interesting content to the online magazine and inform in the online space about everything related to their lives. We are looking forward to further activities and meetings in Banská Bystrica at creative events. ”

Adriana Tupá
Director of KOMUCE, coordinator of community activities, Department of Social Affairs, Banská Bystrica Municipal Office

 

“Local department of JDS (Union of Pensioners of Slovakia) Nové Zámky is a very active civic association, we like to work with young people and we like to learn. There was great interest in the DIKY MOC ZA POMOC project among our seniors, and they praised the interactive workshops focused on new media, information and communication technologies and their use in today’s world. Therefore, we were all looking forward to further meetings and workshops, but with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, which also affected Slovakia, this was understandably not possible. It was also not possible for us to carry out a number of other activities that we had planned for this period, including several trips. I was all the more pleased when the members of Šedý medveď approached  us with an offer to continue cooperating during the quarantine period in the form of individual online and telephone workshops. I perceive this as an added value that has made many of our seniors very pleased, bringing them a pleasant distraction, new knowledge and a positive mood. Thank you for your cordial and humane approach and especially for the patience that everyone highly praises, as well as for the fantastic online magazine, which we are gradually filling with content and we are all very happy about it. I look forward to continuing our cooperation and I believe that we will meet soon in our center for further workshops. ”

Mária Malperová
Chairwoman of the Local department of JDS Nové Zámky

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