International Conference & INVOLEN Competition Award took place in convent of Saint Apollonia in the hearth of Florence. Aim of the conference was to promote discussion on three core topics connected to lifelong learning: intergenerational learning, for promoting the transmission of knowledge and skills between different generations in relation to nature conservation and local heritage; but also for promoting new technologies – ICT (information and communications technologies) and mobile game design – as well as environmental volunteering for enhancing both education and active citizenship.
Conference has been triggered by, and organized in the framework of the INVOLEN project. INVOLEN aims to promote intergenerational learning through game-based learning, targeting nature conservation volunteers in 5 European countries (Italy, Greece, France, Hungary and Slovenia). INVOLEN brings together adolescents and senior citizens, encouraging their participation in voluntary activities for nature conservation, and challenging them to work together to design their own Location Based Game to be played in a chosen protected area, near their place of residence.
Institute InTeRCeR is also working on social innovation project (Land sharing) based on intergenerational cooperation and one of the benefits of the project is the nature conservation. The conference provided opportunity for international promotion of our idea.
This task was done by Iztok who attended the conference and had oral presentation of our pilot project and its results with title “Using Approach of Intergenerational Cooperation and Learning for Nature Conservation and Innovative Eco-social Interventions in Agriculture in Slovenia: A Case Study”.
Pilot project is base for further development of our social innovation idea from the perspective of intergenerational learning. Implementation of the pilot project has given the team conformation that our project idea is having the right approach and encouragement for further development of idea.
Further development of idea has received qualification among 30 semi-finalists of the European Social Innovation Competition 2015.