VII NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF UNIVERSITY PROGRAMMES FOR OLDER ADULTS - El Escorial

Place: El Escorial (Madrid)
Date: 02/10/2003
Organization: El Escorial (Madrid)

Assistants

Content
TOPICS TO BE DEALT WITH

• To demarcate the university training of older adults in the social and educational policies of the various public administrations.
• To establish the basis that facilitate the regulation of the educational policies of the training of older adults in the University.
• To fix the framework of collaboration of the Social Services in the various Public Administrations and other Social Institutions in the university training for older adults.
• To lay the foundations of a steady funding of the university training for older adults.
• To settle on the collaboration courses of older adults through their social projection.

CONCLUSIONS

An important aspect to highlight in the conclusions of this Conference has been the idea of the participation of older adults in the society as a necessity for the continuity of their personal development  and their highest social integration in the framework of learning throughout life and permanent learning.

The conclusions that are presented next have been obtained through two courses of participation inside the Conference. On the one hand, the participation of the assistants in the Sections in which the presented communications were defended; on the other hand, the ones that were presented in the Plenary Session of the Conference.

The communications presented in the VII National Conference were grouped around three Sections that have contributed the following conclusions:

First Section: Social and educational policies and other aspects of the university training for older adults.

The conclusions contributed in this sections have been the following:

1. The University Programmes for Older Adults must be realizations primary of educational character, as much in the teaching aspects as in the investigation ones, although it is necessary to recognise their repercussions and implications in the social and sanitary sphere.
2. The following specifications are deduced from the previous statement:
1. That the Educational Administrations, national and autonomic, take into consideration the University Programmes for Older Adults bestowing them with an official recognition.
2. That each university adds expressly this point in its Statutes and in its legal systems.
3. An adequate coordination in this topic among the various administrations is necessary.
4. Considering that the learning throughout life is a reality theoretically assumed in our society, it is wholly necessary that the various administrations explicitly state their priorities about this particular topic and consequently that the financing will be a consequence of these priorities.
5. It is proposed to initiate the negotiations between the entities implicated in the University Programmes for Older Adults (National Administration, Autonomic, Universities and Associations of University Programmes as well as alumni of these same programmes).

Second Section: Social projection of the university training for older adults.

The contributions and conclusions of this second Section:

1. The encouragement in the University Programmes for Older Adults of the intergenerationality that will bring as a consequence a bigger understanding from the older adults of the problems that affect the young persons and vice versa.
2. The integration of the older adults in today’s society through this training whose access to knowledge gives them a bigger tolerance and empowers them for a bigger understanding of the problems of other minorities and other cultures, for example migration, which entails a more tolerant vision of a society full of challenges.
3. Older adults are more conscious of what the training received in the University brings them, existing an important number of them who is ready to participate in actions of social projection, giving back what they have received.
4. The encouragement of associanism that contributes to the development of a democratic society, influencing in their civic values.
5. To create a contact web that will unite the students of these university programmes with social initiative and the teams that coordinate these activities, and that makes possible to create these groups of joint efforts between older adults, young persons and interested institutions.
6. To launch “internships” for older adults at the end of the study programmes so that they can collaborate in social activities.

Third Section: Social projection in the university environment of the older adults.

In this Section have been highlighted as important benefits for the university training of older adults: the increase of the quality of life, the improvement of health and psychological wellbeing, the bigger social and family integration, as well the usage of new technologies that allow to increase the possibilities in the learning.

The conclusions of this section have revolved around two ambits of analysis in social projection: the university one and the social one in the strict sense.

In the university ambit, from the explained ideas, we have get to the following conclusions:

1. To promote in the courses for older adults the university methodology to resemble them as much as possible to the regulated courses.
2. To encourage in this teachings for older adults research projects that benefit the students, the university itself and the society in general.

In this part referred to the social ambit, the following conclusions are proposed:

1. The associanism formed thanks to the university programmes helps to maintain the link of the students when they finish their training process with the university.
2. The volunteering, through these associations or not, as a way of opening the university to the society, besides making possible courses of participation, implication and compromise.
3. The approaching and access of older adults of a rural ambit to university training, through the compromise of Councils, collaborating in their funding.

The Plenary Session of the Conference tried to establish a general framework of conclusions through the various contributions made in the three presentations, in the experts chart as well as the proposals made by the participants. The Secretary of the Conference proposed to elaborate the conclusions around four key axis that have justified its celebration: social policies, educational policies and social projection.

The presented conclusions have been the following ones:

1. Social policies

The key aspects around whom the different contributions related to social policies connected with the university training of older adults have revolved have been:

• The necessary support of the social administrations to this university initiatives to favour the full integration of older adults in society.
• The homogenisation (no information) of university programmes and its regulation by the educational administrations.
• The maintenance of this university training for older adults, for their own growth and personal development, as well as for their social integration through the knowledge of the interpersonal and intergenerational relationships that are made in the framework of the university.

As conclusions were proposed in this part:

1. To highlight the personal, social and sanitary improvements that the university training for older adults gives to those that can access to it.
2. To obtain a training tending to favour the personal development, integrated in the universal right to education, that also includes older adults in the framework of learning throughout life and permanent learning; social integration through participation and interpersonal and intergenerational relationships.
3. The necessary support of social services through scholarships or other procedures so that the older adults who wish it are not excluded for economic reasons or other kind that the university gives, as it is done with other offers of leisure, cultural, of disability support, etc…

2. Educational policies

It is started from the idea of considering university training for older adults as a right acclaimed by the United Nations and other International Organism, as well as for our 1978 Constitution that acclaims the universal right for education, without being restricted by any cause or motive, nor age reasons.

The key aspects around the various interventions about university policies have revolved have been:

• To clearly wager on the recognition of the educational dimension of the university training for older adults, integrating in the educational administration and in the university this training.
• The proposal of the regulation of this type of training by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports (MECD in Spanish), as well as the necessary legal development through the Organic Law of Universities (LOU in Spanish) in order to get the full integration of this training and of the older adults in the university structures.
• To consider the training as a very adequate way for the integration of older adults in the XXI century society, as well as for the rest of the sectors of society, facing in this way with bigger and smaller possibilities the problems of society with information and knowledge.

They are proposed as conclusions in this part the following:

1. The devising of basic regulation of the university training for older adults by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, as well as its development by the Autonomous Community.
2. The regulation of the university training from the perspective of the learning throughout life and opening it to all types of university teachings in the European framework of higher education.
3. The regulation of the access to all types of university studies for older adults, included the conducing teachings to official qualifications, to those who through this specific training or other systems prove to be prepared to read them.
4. The establishment of university teachings for older adults by the universities themselves in the framework of university autonomy.
5. To incorporate research and assessment tools and media as essential for the university training for older adults, for the university, as well as for the society itself.

3. Financing

In this part are highlighted as key aspects for getting a steady financing for this teachings, including them in the university budgets that from the Education Office are passed for the public universities; working in the framework of self-financing and joint financing of this teachings through the collaboration of social and sanitary administrations, Councils, etc., through scholarships and other procedures.

There are proposed as conclusions in this part:

1. The search of a steady financing integrated in the university budgets through the programme-contracts with the Autonomous Communities or other procedures, considering the number of students, the credits imparted, the teaching needed, the infrastructures, organization, etc.
2. The search for a self-financing and joint financing, implicating the various administrations (central, autonomic and local), as well as other institutions public or private.
3. The financing through tuition fees, accompany with a scholarship system as the one the rest of the teachings have, either from the educational administrations or from the social and sanitary ones.

4. Social Projection

In this part are highlighted as key concepts, the implications of older adults in social and community life, the participation, the projection of knowledge, experiences and values of older adults in the social and university ambits. It is also proposed the highest implication possible of older adults in social participation and in the active compromise with social processes of all sorts.

In this part are proposed as conclusions:

1. The search of courses of participation and implication of older adults in social processes.
2. The encouragement of interpersonal and intergenerational relationships in the university framework.
3. The projection of older adults in society, through courses such as associanism, volunteering, the participation in representative organizations, etc.
4. To assume bigger quotes of responsibility in the politic, union, social, etc.; and of participation, given the important stripe of older adults in relation to the rest of the society.
31. The implication of older adults in the processes of choosing in the various administrations, using for that the representatives courses already existing.
5. The projection of university training for older adults to the rural ambit with the necessary adaptations, so that they do not end up isolated from knowledge and culture, with special implication of the local governments and councils.
6. The plural search of forms that favour an active ageing that benefits to the older adults themselves and the whole of the society through training, leisure and culture, as well as the courses for work for those interested in it.

Finally, in the development of the Plenary Session some ideas and proposals were presented and are next gathered up:

• The official recognition of these teachings and this training.
• The creation of web-association Spanish-American, integrated by all the universities that having a training of this type might be interested.
• The prominence of Councils as closer administration to the citizens through this idea of “educational cities”.
• The importance that older adults have for their number in election processes, making it count for improving their situation in all ambits of personal and social life.
• To urge the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, through this concrete proposals, so that this teachings will be regulated, as well as the full integration of older adults in the university.
• The spreading of these university programmes given the scarcely knowledge of them by important sectors of society.
• The creation of effective courses for the development of volunteering, as well as “labour insertion” of older adults in activities and works in accordance to their possibilities.
• The full integration of these teachings and of older adults in the university so that they can participate with full rights in its representative systems.
• The encouragement of associanism and participation through the representative courses that exist already or through other that may be created.
• The promotion inside the universities of the information to the younger students, the programming and offers of joint activities as a manner of a better integration and development of the intergenerational relationships.
• The creation of work groups, of the universities, associations of older adults, etc., for the presentation of concrete proposals that materialise the conclusions of this Conference and that are raised to the correspondent authorities.