IPVC signs protocol with Viana Chamber and expands Windows ConVIDA

The Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo is preparing to sign, together with the Alto Minho Humanitarian Center of the Portuguese Red Cross, a collaboration and cooperation protocol with the Viana do Castelo City Council, with the purpose of extending Janelas ConVIDA to more people and more institutions.

The project developed in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic by students on the degree course in Social and Gerontological Education at the Escola Superior de Educação do Politécnico de Viana do Castelo (ESE-IPVC), with the aim of combating loneliness and social isolation in older person, continues to grow and attract attention.

“We are going to give more substance to a project that began in the degree course in Social Education and Gerontology and which is now effectively on the streets, in practice”, explains Raquel Gonçalves, coordinator of the degree course in Social and Gerontological Education at ESE-IPVC.

The protocol to be signed now will put into practice the “Janelas ConVIDA Academic Volunteer Program”, which has the “general objective of contributing to the successful aging of older people living in the municipality of Viana do Castelo”. This axis of volunteering, adds Raquel Gonçalves, is already in practice in the parish of Montaria, here in Viana do Castelo, with the participation of 12 elderly people, and the aim is to reach more people.

Windows ConVIDA increasingly comprehensive

But the project to combat loneliness, social isolation, insecurity and social exclusion among the elderly is far from being exhausted in a conversation at the window between a student and an elderly person. In force and already with recognized success is “Letras com Afeto”, a project that, like the previous one, also involves students and older people. Through the exchange of correspondence, participants “make conversation”, tell stories and share memories.

“Surfando Gerações”: an intergenerational action to combat ageism

The fight against ageism takes on various forms and modes of action. If Janelas ConVIDA was born within the scope of a Curricular Unit, “Surfando Gerações”, a project that also works with a view to active aging, emerged within the scope of the curricular internship of the same degree, Gerontological Social Education, from ESE-IPVC, with contributions from Olimpics4All, a project developed by the Escola Superior de Desporto e Lazer (ESDL-IPVC), the Câmara de Viana do Castelo and the Surf Clube de Viana. The activity, which took place at the end of April and was intended to mark Gerontologist Day, took dozens of elderly people to the sea for different moments and a sharing of experiences that will certainly have been engraved in the memory of all those involved, whether they were more or less new.

“This activity was not just about surfing, but about building bonds and combating negative stereotypes associated with age. It was an opportunity to challenge each of the participants, promote contact and bring generations together, exchange stories and celebrate life. These are projects that, like the previous ones, begin in a classroom environment and that gain expression and spill over into the community”, concludes teacher Raquel Gonçalves.