Lifelong learning and participation: a pedagogical turn in social work and social policy

This article is inspired by an EU-founded project on intergenerational mentoring: ‘HEAR ME’, which was conducted from 2009–2011 in five European countries. Starting from the demographic challenges that affect all European welfare states, the authors discuss attitudes to and possibilities in involvement of older people in voluntary social work as mentors for young people. The challenge of the ageing societies is quite often discussed as the ‘burden of the elderly’ and discussed as an economic problem. However, the challenge is not only economical. It is also a social and cultural challenge, among other things because a unilateral focus on the economic aspects may cause dissolution of the social cohesion and decrease in well-being for far too many people. The HEAR ME project aimed at developing strategies for lifelong learning and new roles for older people based on their competences, network and an assumed desire of generativity. Action learning seems to be an appropriate learning concept in relation to keeping older people engaged in the community. The authors thus point at participating and lifelong learning as part of the answers to the demographic challenges, and they suggest what you might call a pedagogical turn in social work and social policy.The challenge of the ageing societies is quite often discussed as the ‘burden of the elderly’ and discussed as an economic problem. However, the challenge is not only economical. It is also a social and cultural challenge, among other things because a unilateral focus on the economic aspects may cause dissolution of the social cohesion and decrease in well-being for far too many people.