The Slovenian Third Age University
Since 1984, when it was established through voluntary endeavours of a group of adult education experts and university teachers of andragogy, the Slovenian Third Age University has steadily grown to become a national network of 45 universities in 44 localities with about 21 000 students, more than 1000 mentors and volunteers. Its practice has been extensively researched; as a result, today the University folows its own generalisations and is based on its own model.
Aims:
- to achieve better understanding of older people’s needs and to better their life through culture and education,
- to facilitate integration of older people in the society through their personal growth, paid or voluntary work,
- to support active ageing in all its forms,
- to enable different generations to collaborate, study and work together,
- to conduct public campaigning in the field of older people’s issues and education,
- to support older workers to stay on the labour market and /or to get back there,
- to research education of older adults and to disseminate the findings,
- to educate teachers, mentors and facilitators in the field,
- to provide education for professionals dealing with people in later life,
- to develop new innovative educational programmes for different groups of people in later life,
- to provide integrated counselling and guidance for active ageing (educational, psychological, legal, and guidance in the field of labour market),
- to ensure networking of civil and public organisations active in the field of education in later life.
Target groups: retired people, older workers, workers in the pre-retirement period
Supporting activities: research, publication, resource centre, education of younger university students, education of mentors, education of employers and social partners, integrated counselling and guidance for active ageing national and international projects
