For seniors residing in long term care facilities as well as for those who live alone, PACE 2000's Intergenerational Virtual Village videoconferencing provides a window on the world. They communicate by way of their television screens, without the help of a technician, from one centre to another, to recent immigrants to Canada and to students in a French Immersion Sociology class..... even to a physiotherapist at the hospital.
Help us help supports youth and seniors!
Over the past centuries, the links between young people and the elderly were always recognized in the context of the family in which three generations of children, parents and grandparents lived side by side. These close family relationships were captured for posterity by various artists over time. One of the best examples of art portraying these family links was painted in landers by Jordaens toward the end of the 17th century. Entitled ; Les jeunes piaillent comme chantent les vieux; (The children chirp as the elders sing), the painting demonstrates the harmony and good will of intergenerational relationships.
Emerging telecommunications technologies can help break down some of the barriers that prevent seniors and students from communicating on a daily basis.
PACE 2000 conducted a survey at the Ottawa Forum on "Friendly Technologies for seniors and Students" on June 13, 1996 (180 participants, 25 exhibitors including the Rehabilitation Center, Canadian National Institute for the Blind, National Hearing Society, ...) and drew an unusually high level of interest in emerging technologies, from seniors (average score: 87%). The students who volunteered created a pleasant experience for the seniors. The interaction between students and seniors was considered to be the main trigger of the seniors curiosity in emerging technologies.
Social Benefits
In 20 years the senior population will double in the Ottawa-Carleton Region. How society can use this untapped resource, and how the specific physical and emotional needs of this generation are met while interacting with youth, is the focus of a new area of study, known as intergenerational programming. Inter-PACE 2000 is on the leading edge of that study with their efforts to build an intergenerational two-way telecommunication network. Age segregation is seen in almost every on-going activity whether professional or recreational. Social problems such as: isolation of seniors, depression in the young and the old, chronically ill patients with debilitating life-styles, youth unemployment and lack of training, increasing suicide rates... are only but a few of the consequences of dropping out of the vital interactive social community network.
Innovative Tele-Mentoring Tools
Meanwhile very little attention is paid to the supportive link that can be drawn from seniors sharing untapped human resources with the young (Drama features traditional conflicts of generations with parents; less than 5% of plays show conflicts with grandparents). A strength can be drawn from this lack of conflict when building a network of students and seniors. Regular and frequent intergenerational contact is a means to overcome the age segregation and its determinant effects. Switching from a yearly or monthly contact to a regular, personal and eye to eye interaction, provides the best medium for a growing and supportive relationship. This valuable visual contact cannot be achieved by the traditional telephone or even recently by Internet E-mail links.
Meet with individuals online, collaborate, teach, and learn. Our Tele-Mentoring program is available exclusively through the the PACE-2-Face (P2F) videoconferencing app. It was designed to be simple and easy to use. With fewer than five buttons, the P2F app allows individuals to connect online with minimal confusion!
Click the button below to join a PACE-2-Face meeting.
We handle the scheduling of intergenerational Tele-Mentoring meetings. To check your upcoming mentoring sessions, view the Session Calendar.
Click the button below to see your upcoming sessions.
To achieve our mission and expand our impact, we are looking to partner with organizations and secure sponsorships. With your support, we can continue to foster personal growth and intergenerational bonds,enhancing the lives of both seniors and youth. We have a growing number of individuals eager to join our program, but we lack the resources to handle scheduling, communication, and connections effectively. Become a partner or sponsor and help us continue building youth confidence, combating senior frailty, and fostering a stronger, more connected community!
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