EWST’s Academy of Third Age (ATA) participated in discussion panels and workshops as part of the II Days of Gerontology in Wroclaw. The three-day event brought together researchers, specialists in the fields of senior citizenship, representatives of Third Age Universities, non-governmental organizations and, above all, the seniors who have participated actively and actively in the various modules of the Gerontology Days.

Among the organizers and invited experts were also representatives of the Evangelical School of Theology, who are regularly associated with the Academy of the Third Age (ATA).

The first day was devoted to the Wroclaw Senior Forum, which responds to the need to deepen discussion on senior policy. It had three panels, devoted to the visions of senior policy implemented by local governments, non-governmental organizations and entities involved in education, culture and business.

In the last panel summarizing the whole forum, one of the experts was Joanna Gacka, Senior.pl editor, who works at EWST and is involved in volunteering with seniors.

In the following days there were numerous lectures devoted to the topic of late adulthood, both in terms of science and presentation of good senior practice. One of the speakers was Dr. Sebastian Smolarz, lecturer at EWST, who has been cooperating with ATA for many years, and last year he was the editor of the special edition of the scientific journal Theologica Wratislaviensia, “Views of old age: Interdisciplinary gerontological studies”.

Dr Smolarz presented ATA as an example of good practice in lifelong education, intercultural, intergenerational and intercollegiate. The EWST Academy of Third Age program met with great interest by both experts and seniors who appreciated the diverse program and (unlike the UTW formula) the open character of the Academy.

In the framework of the conference there was also a panel “UTW – Renaissance or Dusk”, during which Joanna Gacka pointed out that the idea of ​​ATA, with its open formula and the participation of the listeners themselves in programming or choosing the participants of classes, may turn out to be one of the most interesting ways of evolving existing UTW canons.

One of the key findings of the panel was the conviction of the need for co-operation between institutions and the exchange of experiences, ideas and good practices, including those related to forms of senior activism.

We would like to thank the main organizers of the Second Gerontological Days – Wroclaw Senior Center, the Lower Silesian High School and the Federation of Third Age Universities for inviting us to the group of institutions taking an active part in this unique event. We also thank all those who attended our lectures, workshops and panels with us.

We express our gratitude to the listeners of ATA, who not only participated in this event, but also gave us great support. Anyone interested in the Academy, we invite you to participate in the class. We also hope that the Days of Gerontology (and our participation in them) will become another good Wroclaw tradition.

Pictures courtesy of Wroclaw Senior Center