University commitment to seniors: a challenge in times of COVID-19



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## University commitment to seniors: a challenge in times of COVID-19

05/06/2020 |
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The crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic is shaking the pillars of our society and is changing the way we live, communicate and interact. However, under no circumstances should these changes lead to a loss of our rights and possibilities. In this regard, we must pay special attention to the most vulnerable groups, such as the elderly.

Through the University Programmes for Senior Citizens, public higher education, with its firm commitment to quality training, maintains educational, social, cultural and research opportunities open and under way for this group. By so doing the aim is to fulfil the goal of education as defined by Herbert Spencer back in the 19th century, which is none other than "to produce a self-governing being; not to produce a being to be governed by others". We are talking about actions of the utmost importance for a population group that will be the last to return to normal, but which must not miss the chance to keep on interacting with other people and exercising their right to a healthy, active and participatory ageing.

The aim of these programmes, which came into being in the late 90s, is to bring the university closer to this group and to work in favour of active ageing, the transfer of knowledge, social cohesion, the promotion of research, and the fight against loneliness and social isolation of these people. Since their inception, the University Programmes for Senior Citizens of the Valencian Community have become a national and international benchmark for the commitment of universities to lifelong learning and the involvement of the elderly in society. This mission is and must be a priority, especially in the times we are living in, in order to meet the needs of our students and to show that the university is where it should be, namely, in research, in training and in social action.

The work we are doing through the University Programmes for Senior Citizens is fundamental to claim and guarantee the rights of our seniors and to continue to be the platform where they can go on developing both socially and academically. In this sense, the five University Programmes for Senior Citizens of the Valencian Community are evaluating different scenarios with which to face the new academic year, all of which are necessarily subject to the guidelines and measures set by the health authorities and the government. At the same time we are, of course, aware that their priority is to return to what has been known up to now as normal and to face-to-face teaching.

However, in these circumstances, it is necessary to adapt the programmes to the new health and social reality, and virtual teaching provides us with a series of new possibilities and opportunities. While it is true that the changes also pose challenges, such as lecturers’ having to adapt to new teaching methodologies, the logistic difficulties of senior students or their lack of adaptation to technology, the commitment of the University Programmes for Senior Citizens is to facilitate access to this new digital world that has become so necessary in these times of crisis.

Likewise, the mission of the University Programmes for Senior Citizens is not only to offer education in the classroom. In these programmes students also take part in a wide range of cultural, sports and volunteering activities. By participating in the programmes, students are not only immersed in the social environment in which they find themselves, but are also active agents in the creation of a more supportive and generous society. These activities also continue in a virtual manner and allow students to remain active from a social point of view and to maintain interpersonal relationships. The University Programmes for Senior Citizens offer a number of possibilities, such as conversation and discussion groups (now online), theatre groups (by videoconference) or creating and presenting radio programmes, which aim to make the voice of seniors heard on the airwaves, thereby helping to eliminate age-related stereotypes. There are also volunteer programmes, such as accompanying elderly people who live alone, solidarity food collection, and many other activities aimed at combatting social isolation. Students can even participate in research, for example, through the mass media observatory, MAYMECO, where research is conducted on the image of the elderly in the media, or through various European projects led by different universities (HEIM, CLEAR, ON-TRAIN, LIVEELEARN, SELID, etc.).

Since the last decade of the 20th century, universities have assumed and proudly declared their strong commitment to one of the key factors in the growth of society: lifelong learning. Faced with this crisis, it is true that universities in general, and the University Programmes for Senior Citizens in particular, are still committed to university education for older people, offering them undeniable opportunities for personal growth and providing them with tools that will enable them (us) to have a satisfactory and full life.

In short, as public universities, we do not neglect our role in these moments of crisis, with the education of senior citizens contributing to consolidate inclusive societies in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.

XPUM-CV  
Network of University Programmes for Senior Citizens of the Valencian Community. It is made up of the five Valencian public universities.

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