In Poland, over 100 senior councils exist. The experiences of the Society for Creative Initiatives „ę” from the first edition of the project showed that the councils have problems with defining their aims and activities to undertake in cooperation with municipalities, while municipalities have often no clear senior policies, and rarely invite the councils to cooperate in this field.
The aim of the project was to initiate contacts between senior councils and local government units and to indicate the advantages of possible cooperation that can bring tangible benefits for both parties.
Under the project, ten Partnerships between senior councils and representatives of municipalities implemented projects concerning e.g. planning senior-friendly public space, civil education, diagnosing the needs of senior citizens, organising senior clubs, pilot implementing of tele-care. The Club of Civil Ambassadors 50+ was created, gathering a group of local leaders invited to cooperate in a broad promotion of civil activation, sharing their experiences, skills or their personal stories of social engagement. The activities of senior councils and municipal authorities under the project were described in the form of simple scenarios - “Ideas to implement”, and in the publication “Senior councils. Interventions”.
In the project participated both experienced senior councils and recently created, less experienced ones, differing among themselves in their methods of activity or the size of their municipalities: Koszalin, Suwałki, Toruń, Legionowo, Prudnik, Opole, Przemyśl, Tychy, Miechów, Łazy. Representatives of the Society „ę” visited all 10 localities chosen in the competition (diagnosing visits). During a workshop lasting several hours, senior councils together with the representatives of local government tried to select tasks implementing an important objective of local senior policies to be realised under the project. Then, three two-day training and workshop reunions took place where the representatives of councils and municipalities (40 persons) could meet and work on the selected tasks, as well as gain knowledge on e.g. local government, diagnosing needs, competencies of senior councils, communication and team work.
The project recipients were members of senior councils, local officers and councillors from 10 municipalities in Poland.