DAY ONE

ICE-BREAKERS AND INTRODUCTION

Name of the Hello

activity
Objectives This activity will set the tone for the workshop: it is easy and
fun, it helps participants to relax and start to get to know each
other.
Time 5 minutes
Materials None
Method Group work
How to run the The trainer gives a short welcome to participants (lasting
activity about one minute). Then the trainer asks participants to walk
round the room without saying anything, just nodding and
smiling at the others. This should go on for one minute. Then
participants can greet the others while keeping walking
slowly, using different forms of greeting, such as ‘Hello’,
‘Good morning’ or ‘Pleased to meet you’. As a last step
participant start walking faster and greeting the others faster.
Issues to consider

Name of the Show your hobby!

activity
Objectives This activity will set the tone for the workshop: it is easy and
fun, it helps participants to relax and start to get to know each
other.
Time 5 minutes
Materials None
Method group work
How to run the • trainers ask participants to stand in circle then ask them to
activity say their names and show there hobbies without saying
anything
• other participants will guess what it could be
Issues to consider • if somebody is not comfortable with showing his / her
hobby they can say it

Name of the My name is

activity
Objectives This ice-breaker will help participants to learn each other’s
names
Time 5 -10 minutes
Materials • a soft ball
• or a flower, or nice small object e.g. a doll or a picture
 • name tags or stickers with the names of the participants

Method group work

How to run the The trainer asks participants to sit in a circle, gives the ball to
activity one of the participants, who has to tell her/his name to the
others slowly and loudly and throw the ball to somebody
sitting opposite to her/him. The second participant tells
her/his name and throws the ball again. They go on with this
until everybody tells her/his name at least twice.
• If it is not comfortable to throw the ball, a small object like a
flower, a doll or a picture can be passed (not thrown)
around while mentioning the names.
• In the second half of the activity using the ball or the other
objects, participants tell the other person’s name who gets
the ball or the other objects. Go round until everybody’s
name turns up at least twice. Other participants can help if
some names are not remembered immediately.
• At the end of the activity participants can put on name tags
or stickers with their names on.

Issues to consider

WELCOME

Name of the Welcome everybody

activity
Objectives This activity introduces the trainer and this is the first
introduction to the aims, objectives and style of the workshop.
It is important that the participants can also ask questions
and make observations.
Time 15 minutes
Materials A flip chart for the most important information and facts of the
workshop
Method Frontal presentation and discussion
How to run the • The trainer welcomes participants and explains everything
activity about the workshop. He takes notes putting the most
important facts and information on the flipchart.
• My name is … I come from ….
• We are grateful that you have agreed to take part in this
workshop. … This workshop was organized by …
• It is part of a series of workshops running in six different
countries …
• We will have two meetings. Today is our first meeting. This
first day is mainly about the past. About what we know,
what we have learned so far, about what our learning
experiences are. We will be together until …. clock. In the
meantime we will have a coffee break and we will have
 lunch together. Our next meeting with a similar time table
will be on …. The second day will be about the future,
about our plans, options and opportunities for the future.
We think there are a lot of things to learn in order to make
our life better, more interesting, to engage ourselves in
community life and we can do a lot to motivate and involve
other older adults, who have been inactive so far.
• The aim of our workshop …
• What are we going to do during these two days?
(Programme/timetable of the WS on flipchart)
• What methods are we going to use? We will have
conversations, we will answer questions, we will interview
each other, we will work in pair and in groups, we will
remember the past and we will think about the future …
• Do you have any questions or any observations?

Issues to consider

INTRODUCTION OF PARTICIPANTS AND EXPECTATIONS OF PARTICIPANTS

Name of the Who am I? Who are you?

activity
Objectives Getting to know and introducing each other. This activity
expands the introduction of the participants. It collects the
first information about their learning experience, their
interests and this is the first step to gather data for their skills
profile.
Time 60 minutes
Materials • handout
• pen
Method • working in pairs
• plenary presentation
How to run the The trainer gives everybody a copy of the handout.
activity Participants read the question first. Then they work in pairs.
Everybody takes his partner’s questionnaire, asks the
questions and writes down the information. Participants
should give information only if they feel comfortable with it. It
is not a problem if a few questions are unanswered. When
the questions are answered everybody sits in a big circle and
every participant introduces her/his partner to the others
using the information on the questionnaire.
Issues to consider
Handout:

photo Name:

Address:

Age:

Family background:

What is the most positive thing about you?

……………………………………………………………….
How did you get involved with this workshop?
……………………………………………………………….
What learning programme/activity do you take part in?
……………………………………………………………….
How did you take up/start this course/activity?
……………………………………………………………….
What do you like most about it?
……………………………………………………………….
What are you good at?
………………………………………………………………..
What are your hobbies?
………………………………………………………………..
What are your plans for the future?
………………………………………………………………..
What else would you like to do?
………………………………………………………………..
How could we involve/motivate others?
………………………………………………………………..

Any comments, any remakrs?

………………………………………………………………..
Name of the Great expectations
activity
Objectives It is important to know what the participants expect of the
workshop. This can be used at the end to see how much of
the expectations have been met.
Time 15 minutes
Materials • a flipchart for the trainer to put down the essence of what
the participants say
Method • plenary
How to run the The trainer explains that at this stage participants have some
activity idea about the aims of the workshop. Everybody should
mention one or two things they expect of these two days.
What will they learn, what will they share, what can they use
from what they hear and do, and what, they think, will happen
at all?
The trainer puts down what participants say on the flipchart
under the heading “Our Expectations”.
Issues to consider

SKILLS PROFILE part one

Name of the Our skills – what we have learnt so far and what we
activity know. What are we good at?
Objectives It is very important to know what we know. In this activity
participants will familiarize with different skills, they will collect
and discuss different skills they are good at, skills that that
they could still do with, that other people would need to
improve the quality of their lives, skills that could be the
subject of a learning course or some other kind of activity.
Time 60 minutes
Materials • blank cards (5 for each participant) and prepared cards (15
for every small group of 3-4 people) with the names of
extreme skills (like bungee jumping), things which are not
skills at all (e.g. snoring or watching television) and skills
which are important but presumable will not appear on
participants’ cards (e.g. organizational skills, conflict
management etc. see task …… on skills)
• pens
• a large table to put the cards on
• a flipchart
Method • individual work
• work in groups, first of 3-4 people then of 6-8 people
How to run the The trainer explains to the participants what we mean by
activity skills and gives a few examples.
Each participant gets 5 blank cards. They put down the name
 of 5 skills they think are important (One card –one skill). The
trainer can give a few examples. (E.g. nursing or cooking)

Groups of 3-4 are formed. Each group receives another 15

(prepared) cards with skills (or non-skills) on them. Each
group examines and discusses the skills on the cards,
eliminates identical/insignificant/irrelevant cards, then ranks
remaining cards from the point of view of importance and
usefulness.
Each group takes the 10-12 most important cards and joins
another group. The new groups (now of 6-8) do the same
procedure (of discussing, eliminating and ranking)
Groups place the cards in order of importance on the table
and explain result to the other group(s).
The trainer writes the 10-12 most important and useful skills,
based on the cards on the table, on the flipchart.
Issues to consider

SKILLS PROFILE part two

Name of the Filling in the skills profile

activity
Objectives • to discover and face skills acquired during years
• to understand that during our lives we learn in different
situations (formal, non-formal, informal learning)
Time 90 minutes (75 + 15 minutes)
Materials • handout
• pen
Method Individual work
How to run the
activity 75 minutes
• trainers explain the activity, the method and introduce the
different parts of the questionnaire
• trainers ask participants to fill in the questionnaire in 3
steps:
1. read carefully the name of the skill and the explanation
and then decide it whether you have it or not
2. think of a concrete example and write it down shortly
3. assess the skill according to the scale
If a certain skill is not relevant, please tick the “not relevant”
box.

Trainers go around and help participants if they have

questions.
 15 minutes
• trainers ask participants to look through the skills profile
again and choose the 3 most important skills and write it
down the skills profile form

Issues to consider • skills profile need to be tailored to the specific target group
we work with

Handout

Skills Please give an example from your own Level

experience. How do / did you use this
skill?

Work related skills

1. Interpersonal very good
Communication good
(Being able to communicate not too good
ideas and information to others not relevant
and work with a variety of
people)
3. Written Communication very good
(Being able to present good
information in written form, e.g. not too good
reports, articles, minutes of not relevant
meetings)
4. Administration very good
(General office work e.g. filing, good
typing, organising meetings, not too good
purchasing supplies) not relevant

5. Accounting very good

(preparing accounts and good
managing budgets; listing not too good
income / expenditure, preparing not relevant
balance sheets etc.)
7. Organisational skill very good
(Organising events such as good
seminars, conferences, general not too good
assemblies, exhibitions, not relevant
competitions, shows etc.)
8. IT very good
(Using computer programmes, good
e.g. Word, Excel, Access; using not too good
internet and e-mail; using not relevant
databases; designing websites;
programming)
 9. Foreign languages very good
(Understanding spoken and good
written language/s; translating not too good
and interpreting; using language not relevant
for business purposes)
10. Human Resources very good
Management good
(Recruiting, training, supervising not too good
others, organising not relevant
responsibilities and roles)

11. Programme management very good

(similar to organisational good
skills!) not too good
(Planning and developing not relevant
programmes, defining scope,
objectives, activities, resources
and evaluation steps)
13. Leadership very good
(Being able to take a lead, good
make strategic decisions to not too good
move forward; representing not relevant
your organisation externally)
14. Team working very good
(Contributing to a collaborative good
climate; cooperating to reach not too good
common goals, accepting not relevant
others points of view)
15. Teaching very good
(Teaching on an individual basis good
or in a group; in an informal or not too good
formal environment) not relevant

16. Personal Responsibility – very good

self management good
(Showing commitment and not too good
reliability; being able to organise not relevant
your time and manage your
work; motivating yourself)
Human relations
17. Stress management
(Conflict management, facing very good
any human or practical problem) good
not too good
not relevant
[Link] very good
(Creating, developing and good
sustaining partnerships with not too good
individuals or organisations) not relevant
19. Motivating Others very good
(Encouraging others to get good
involved) not too good
not relevant
[Link] Solving very good
(Analysing problems, finding good
appropriate solutions to specific not too good
situations) not relevant

[Link] Listening very good

(Being receptive to what others good
say, showing empathy, not not too good
assuming a major role in the not relevant
conversation, responding to
requests for help)

22. Being Proactive very good

(Showing initiative and good
creativity, responding to not too good
changing situations; being not relevant
flexible)
23. Counselling very good
(Specialist or general good
consultancy; counselling) not too good
not relevant
[Link] / Mediation very good
(similar to stress good
management!) not too good
(Facilitating constructive not relevant
debate; finding compromises;
finding satisfactory solutions to
conflicts)
25. Organisational skill very good
(Organising events with friends, good
family) not too good
not relevant

26. Decision Making very good

(Identifying possible options and good
assuming responsibility for not too good
choosing best outcome not relevant

Family, health care

27. Bringing up children very good
good
not too good
not relevant
28. Household – very good
organisational skills, good
accounting etc. not too good
not relevant

29. Cooking very good

good
not too good
not relevant

30. Health care and very good

prevention good
not too good
not relevant

31. Care taking very good

good
not too good
not relevant

Please write as many as you very good

can… good
not too good
not relevant

very good
good
not too good
not relevant

very good
good
not too good
not relevant

Hobby, leisure time activities

30. Gardening very good
good
not too good
not relevant
Please write as many as you very good
can… good
not too good
not relevant

very good
good
not too good
not relevant

very good
good
not too good
not relevant

Specific skills developed through volunteering

Please write as many as you very good
can… good
not too good
not relevant

very good
good
not too good
not relevant
MY SKILLS PROFILE

THIS IS WHAT I AM LIKE

THINGS I CAN DO
THINGS I KNOW

Name:

Date and place of birth or age:

SKILLS I AM VERY GOOD AT

1.

2.

3.

…………………………………………………………………….

OTHER SKILLS I AM STILL GOOD AT:

1.

2.

3.

…………………………………………………………………….
EVALUATION OF DAY 1, SUMMARISING AND GIVING FEEDBACK

Name of the Smiley ☺ or not smiley ?

activity
Objectives It is important to know how participants feel at the end of day
one, what they think of the workshop and of the topics
covered.
Time 10 minutes
Materials • post it cards
• flipchart
Method plenary
How to run the Trainer explains the aim of this activity and gives participants
activity blank post it cards. He draws three “Smiley” faces on the
flipchart: one smiling, one crying, one neutral. He asks
participants to draw one of these faces on the post it card
according to how they feel at the moment. Participants
should stick their faces on the flipchart below the same face.
We will see how the group feels.
Issues to consider
 DAY TWO

ICE BREAKER

Name of the What is your favourite colour?

activity
Objectives To do some warming up activity at the beginning of day two.
Time 10 - 15 minutes
Materials • a piece of paper
• pens
Method group work and pair work
How to run the The trainer hands out a piece of paper and a pen to every
activity participant. Then the trainer explains that (s)he will ask a few
questions and participants should write down the answers on
the piece of paper in one or maximum two words. For
example if the question is “What is your favourite colour?”
The answer is “red”, “blue” or “pink”.

Questions?
1. What is your favourite colour?
2. What is your lucky number?
3. What is your favourite name?
4. What is your favourite food?
5. What are you the best at?
6. What would you like to learn?

Every participant finds a partner and using her/his piece of

paper with her/his own answers, asks her/his partner the
same questions. Then participants find a new partner and
ask the questions again.
Issues to consider

Name of the Tell a piece of good news!

activity
Objectives To do some warming up activity at the beginning of day two.
Time 10 - 15 minutes
Materials None
Method plenary
How to run the Trainer ask the participants to tell something good that has
activity happened lately to them
Issues to consider
ACTION PLAN

Name of the A JOURNEY TO OURSELVES

activity A three-step fantasy game around learning and making
plans about learning
Objectives It is very important to find out the needs and learning
capacities of older people. There are a few areas where they
could refresh or expand their previous knowledge and there
may be areas where they can learn and do something that is
useful and interesting for them and also for the community
they live in. In the first step we will find out what are the
problems and deficiencies that are caused by the lack of
some knowledge, problems that could be solved with the help
of some learning programs, in the second step we will
imagine and ideal (illusory) situation, where all our problems
will be solved through learning programmes, and finally in the
third step we will find out what is realistic and feasible.
Time 90 minutes (25 + 25 + 10 + 30 minutes)
Materials • complaint cards and dream cards
• handout
• flipcharts
Method group work and pair work
How to run the Introduction
activity The trainer explains the objectives of this activity.
In the first step we all visit the complaining wall where
everybody can tell us about her/his problems and
deficiencies that are caused by the lack of some knowledge,
problems that could be solved with the help of some learning
programs.

Participants form groups of three.

STEP ONE
THE COMPLAINING WALL (25 minutes)

Participants start talking about the problems which have

something to do with the lack of some knowledge. (E.G. “I
can’t write e-mails to my grandson because I do not
understand computers.”
Everybody receives 2-3 cards, symbolizing problems,
difficulty or hardship.
They write down one problem or one complaint on one card,
e.g. “No computer skills” or “I don’t understand computers.”

The trainer collects the complaints and sticks them on the

wall or the flipchart (the “temporary complaining wall”). All the
participants visit the exhibits on the complaining wall. They
can make comments on the complaints.
STEP TWO
DREAMS HAVE WINGS (25 minutes)

The trainer asks the participants to go back to their groups

and think about an ideal situation in which all their problems
are solved after a learning program. We should imagine that
we have finished one or two courses and we have acquired
new skills. These skills will help us to improve our lives, to be
healthier, to have more fun, to manage our lives better and
so on. So what will be our new skills, our new competences?

Participants discuss in their small groups what are their

dreams, wishes or desires.

Everybody receives 2-3 cards, symbolizing dreams, wishes,

desires.
Everybody writes down 2-3 new skills they would like to
acquire, if they had the opportunity to take part in some
learning programme.

The trainer collects the wishes and sticks them on the wall or
the flipchart (the “flying dreams wall”). All the participants visit
the exhibits. They can make comments on the dreams.

INTERMISSION (10 minutes)

This is the moment when the trainer can ask the participants
what feeling it is to talk about their problems and complaints
and also about wishes and dreams. What is pleasant or
unpleasant about it? What they think whether we should talk
about our problems and also about our wishes in a
community. How can we discuss and find solution to our
problems which have something to do with learning. Who can
help us? Can we help each other?
STEP THREE
BACK TO EARTH (30 minutes)

The trainer sums up the first two steps: from complaining to

dreaming. The results are on the walls. Now it is time to get
back to reality. What are goals included in the dreams and
motivated by our complaints that are realistic? Everybody
should go on working in the small group, thinking about
her/his plans and ambitions and also trying to help other
participants in the group.

The trainer hands out the ‘Action Plan’ handouts. The card
should be titled according to the needs and expectations of
the group. If they do not like the name, it can be changed.

Participants fill the handouts. They can help each other and
 of course the trainer can help them.

When all handouts are filled, they are stuck on the flipchart or
the “Planning Wall”. The participants visit the wall and study
other participant’s plans. They can always make
amendments to their own plans.

The trainer sums up the road from the complaints to the

action plans.

If possible, in the next break a final version of the plans is

edited and printed that the participants can take home
together with their skills profiles.

Issues to consider

Examples of complaining cards:

An example of a dream card:

NAME: …………………………………………

MY PLANS
WHAT WOULD I LIKE TO DO?
WHAT WOULD I LIKE TO KNOW?
WHAT ELSE WOULD I LIKE TO LEARN?

1……………………………………………..

2. ……………………………………………..

3. ……………………………………………..

………………………………………………..

………………………………………………..

WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO ACHIEVE MY

GOALS?
WHAT DO I HAVE TO LEARN?

Step one ………………………………………

Step two ………………………………………

Step three ……………………………………..

The next steps …………………………………

MOTIVATING AND INVOLVING OTHERS

Name of the Tell us the story

activity
Objectives We learn a lot from each other’s stories and experiences in
the field of learning. This is a good opportunity to get
acquainted with other people’s learning experiences and
decide how we can use them for our benefit and for the
motivation of others.
Time 60 minutes
Materials • flipchart
• a prepared story recorded on video or audio
Method • plenary discussion
• individual work
• pre-recorded example of somebody’s experience
How to run the The trainer explains the objectives of this activity.
activity
We learn a lot from each other’s stories and experiences in
the field of learning. Think about those people who are left
out from every learning opportunity, community life activities,
who have hardly any experiences, including learning
experiences, and also positive experiences in their lives, who
always have to solve all their problems on their own.
“Please think about an event or a story from your experience
that could be useful and motivating for those who do not take
part in any learning programmes or community activities and
who would definitely need these activities.

Tell us stories, facts, episodes or any experiences that could

raise the interest of inactive people of your age and stories
that could motivate these people to become active.”

• (participants listen to an example prepared recorded on

video or audio)
• Think about the story for a few minutes
• Everybody tells the story in max. 5 minutes

Trainer takes notes on a flipchart and sums up the most

interesting moments.

Issues to consider

Name of the Who is this person?

activity
Objectives To talk about the learning needs of people and to reflect on
how to motivate inactive people.
Time 60 minutes
Materials Portraits (photographs) of elderly people (at least twice as
many as the number of the participants or more) are
displayed on a table.
Method the combination of individual work and group work
How to run the Trainer explains how important motivation is especially for
activity those who do not take part in learning programmes or
community activities. It is, of course, important to motivate
those who are somewhat active in order to engage them in
more activities and make them share their knowledge. The
portraits (photographs) are displayed on a table.
Participants walk around the table observing the photographs
as if it were a photo exhibition, at first without making any
comments. After one or two rounds participants select a
photograph that reminds them of somebody they know (even
if the resemblance is vague), who is inactive although it
would be very useful for this person to join a learning
programme. Groups of 3-4 are formed and participants
discuss what they think of the photos:
• introduce the person the photo reminds you of,
• what kind of learning programme of community activity
would be good for him,
• how could we motivate and involve this person.

groups report to the other groups about what they have

discussed

Trainer takes notes on a flipchart and sums up the most

interesting moments.

Issues to consider

COMPETENCE MARKET

Name of the Competence market

activity
Objectives To build small (learning) communities
Time 45 – 60 minutes
Materials • post it (two different colours)
• pan
• flipchart / board or appropriate surface to put post-it on
Method Individual work combined with plenary
How to run the • Trainer explains how important to share our knowledge,
activity and this activity is an example how we can build small
(learning) communities
• Using the skills profile and the action plan trainer asks
participants to write 3 things that they would like to learn
and 3 other that they are good at and can teach to others.
(these should be written down to different colour post-it)
 • Trainer prepares two flipcharts with the title “I would like
learn…”, and “I can teach”
• Participants put their post-it and group them
• Then they try to find other people who are interesting in the
same thing or who can teach them and create groups etc.
• Trainers sum up the results (how many groups there are,
topics etc.)
• Trainer explains that this works in other communities as
well
Issues to consider

DO’S AND DONT’S

- Some older people are shy and do not like to speak in front of the others. Let’s
help them and let’s not make them act too much or at all. Others have
problems with writing. Let’s write for them or we can ask another participant to
do the writing.
- If participants have any doubt, we should explain things again, give examples
and take time. Never haste older participants.
- Always adapt activities and timing to the concrete situation in the group.
Sometimes participants get tired sooner, you can shorten activities. Other time
like talking, talking too much or talking about something different. The trainer
should tactfully shorten the contributions or divert conversation back to the
point.
- Let us use lunch breaks or coffee breaks for extra or personal issues that do
not fit in the scheduled activities.
- The trainer’s words should vary from country to country, from group to group,
taking into consideration special local features, e.g. the composition of the
group, their previous learning activity, their age, the type of the host
organization etc.
- The trainer should always closely follow what is happening in the activities. If
somebody gets stuck he should explain again, give examples, if necessary, he
can simplify the activity, do the wording for the participant. To put it short: he
should facilitate the smooth flow of the activity, by providing all kind of help to
the participants. One of the useful ways of assistance is to give examples, to
repeat and explain tasks in other words.
- Older adults are normally very grateful when they are takes care of, listened
to, when they feel they are still important, they can learn something. However,
if we expect too much of them, which is beyond their physical, mental,
financial or any other capacities, it can be very frustrating and demotivating for
them.