The 4th edition of “TAU for Communities”, implemented as part of the “Third Age Universities” Program, has been launched. For next dozen of months, ten Third Age Universities will work on establishing and developing groups of volunteering and social activities.
The first meeting of Third Age Universities teams participating in the starting right now 4th edition of “TAU for Communities” project was held in Warsaw from November 28-30, 2016. The TAUs from Bydgoszcz, Chrzanów, Jędrzejów, Morąg, Puławy, Rewal, Rzeszów, Tarnów, Włodawa and Wrocław make another group of ten TAUs that plan to establish and develop groups of volunteering and social activities within their structures. They decided to take part in the “TAU for Communities” project, lasting a dozen of months and offering substantive support in that area. All of them received plates with the TAU logo to display in their offices and this way they were symbolically included into the network of social leaders – project participants.
In the address opening the meeting and inaugurating the fourth edition of the project Katarzyna Maniszewska, the PAFF Program Director, and Beata Tokarz-Kamińska, a member of the Board of the Association of the Creative Initiatives “ę”, wished the participants a lot of success in carrying out planned activities and solving problems they notice in their communities. They both expressed their hopes that TAUs participating in the project will serve as the example for all TAUs and will encourage more and more TAU students to get socially engaged.
During the three-day meeting the participants attended workshops on the tools and methods of building and integrating a team as well as proper communication in a group development. They had also an opportunity to get to know each other and share information about their TAU, their experiences and successes. An important experience were also workshops on leadership. Another bloc of classes was on very important formal, legal and organizational issues related to volunteering.
In 2017 the teams operating within TAUs from Bydgoszcz, Chrzanów, Jędrzejów, Morąg, Puławy, Rewal, Rzeszów, Tarnów, Włodawa and Wrocław will take part in a series of workshops and study tours as well as receive support from the project team and Travelling Culture Animators and Sociologists which will enable them to develop volunteering groups of TAU students, as well as plan activities for the benefit of local communities. They will also be able to benefit from the examples and experiences of 30 TAUs from all over Poland which have already participated in the project.
“TAU for Communities” is a project that has been managed by the Association of the Creative Initiatives “ę” since 2013 as part of the “Third Age Universities” Program of PAFF. Its objective is to provide substantive support for those TAUs that want to work actively for the benefit of their local communities, especially on the basis of volunteering. Each round is participated by 10 TAUs.
More about the project at http://utw.seniorzywakcji.pl/
