TOY-PLUS

Description

Population ageing in Europe will continue with accelerating pace in the next decades. This trend requires societal adaptations regarding education and training, work, family life and social protection. One such adaption is intergenerational learning (IGL), which brings people from different generations together, to share activities, learn and understand each other better. Together Old and Young project or TOY (www.toyproject.net) (2012-2014) was unique amongst European IGL projects with its focus on including children in the early childhood years (0-10 years) in IGL activities with older adults (65 +). TOY research and pilot actions demonstrated that intergenerational facilitators are crucial to the success of intergenerational projects and initiatives.

TOY-PLUS is the logical next step in TOY, creating training opportunities and sharing knowledge about intergenerational learning principles and practice to ensure the implementation of meaningful and quality intergenerational experiences between young children and older people.

The objectives of the TOY-PLUS project are as follows:

• Develop, test and disseminate an innovative online curriculum and methodology in IG work for practitioners in early childhood education and care (ECEC), social care and community work
• Develop and test an IG certificate of quality (TOY Quality Stamp) with agreed standards for local authorities and educational institutions

The project will be implemented in Italy, Ireland, Slovenia, Spain and the UK and directly address:

• Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) practitioners
• Social Care practitioners
• Community development workers
• Staff of local authorities