Over the course of the summer and autumn months, Kindervilla has successfully implemented workshops to pilot both the training program handbook and the toolkit for intergenerational activities. Firstly, Kindervilla piloted the toolkit in cooperation with Wohn und Pflegeheim, a care home in the Austrian town of Hall in Tirol. Kindervilla visited the care home with a group of children (aged 4-6 years old) who participated in a series of intergenerational games and activities with a group of elderly people (aged 65+) who were living at the care home. This piloting stage was also observed by members of the welfare staff at the care home. The piloting of the toolkit took place over the course of three visits in June and was met with a positive response. The children and the elderly had a wonderful time together and a real intergenerational bond was created between them. The feedback regarding the activities was both positive and constructive.
Following the success of the toolkit piloting, Kindervilla distributed the handbook between a varied trial group of educators, care workers, and welfare staff, in collaboration once again with Wohn un Pflegeheim, as well as with Kindervilla educational staff members. The handbook and its contents were first presented to the participants who were also given ample time to read through the handbook together and familiarise themselves with it before providing feedback and further evaluation to the partner members. Overall, the handbook was well received and the overall feedback was positive, the participants found the new information regarding intergenerational issues and solutions valuable to their profession. There was also plenty of valuable discourse between participants and partner members from Kindervilla.
Overall the piloting of the handbook and toolkit was successful and allowed for meaningful discussion and development of the project results, all parties involved had a positive experience and gave constructive feedback. The results of the piloting phases will be compiled along with the results of the other project partners into a concise report on the project website.
