A3C – Ageing, Climate Change and Citizenship

Proposed Schedule/Program (CET)

• July 8: Introduction to the programme and pre-assignments (a 2-hour session)
• July 15: Personal development and soft skills: critical and creative thinking, teamwork, leadership and communication skills + Active citizenship: the role of European values + Introduction to Climate Change + Introduction to Ageing
• July 16: Hands on: modules on Ageing + Climate Change with the use of the Personas methodology - personas: a representative design tool
• July 17: Citizenship and European values related to Ageing and Climate change + Wrap-up of the presentations with the support of the teachers + Group presentation of projects

You can find a detailed schedule in the Downloads section.

Registration is open: https://international.up.pt/event_registration/form/ev/0fc0ca7cc1e06da2a65ce9024a2e6449

Registration deadline: 4th of July 2020

In case of questions please contact the EUGLOH Team@U.Porto: eugloh@up.pt

• Programme

Goals and methods of the A3C training activity

The A3C training activity (* 3ECTS Credits) took place from the 15th to the 17th of July 2020. It aimed at promoting discussion, in groups, among EUGLOH Master and PhD students, on innovative solutions for societal issues, such as Ageing, Climate Change and Citizenship, in line with the 2030 agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. During the 3-day online workshop, Master and PhD students were able to discuss and share creative ideas and methodologies, in relation to the interconnections of these topics and their relevance to the response to present economic, social and environmental challenges.

Through hands-on methodologies, namely the “personas” representative design tool, together with case-studies on the proposed topics, combined with a personal development component, such as group dynamics, participants had the opportunity of learning in an intercultural and interdisciplinary environment and develop team spirit, creative and critical thinking, leadership and communication skills.

Students had an introductory session prior to the workshop (8th of July). On the first day, they were invited to briefly present themselves and bring a symbolic item representing their home country and culture. Students were also divided into small working groups to participate in group activities and case studies, as well as developing and presenting a final project.

Results and evaluation

Out of 47 selected applicants, 35 attended and successfully completed the online programme. This effective participation and low drop out rate reflects the high interest and engagement of students from 12 different nationalities (some of the most represented countries were Portugal, Brazil, China, Bangladesh, Romania and Ghana), of different backgrounds and areas (from 3 of the 5 EUGLOH partner institutions).

Finally, of the 35 participants who completed the A3C – Ageing, Climate Change and Citizenship, a total of 23 (approximately 66%) answered the satisfaction survey on the training activity A3C - Ageing, Climate Change and Citizenship. The survey results reflect a positive assessment by respondents and we may conclude that participants were globally satisfied. It is relevant to highlight they would recommend the activity to a colleague (approximately 95% of survey respondents assigned a score of 4 or 5 to this question). In fact, this was also the question with the highest average score (4,7). The observations are mostly positive notes, even though survey respondents mentioned different aspects. We can group participants’ contributions into the following categories: a) the importance of the topics covered; b) the interactive nature of the sessions; c)the presence of people from various cultural and academic backgrounds (which gave rise to interesting discussions and work presentations that enriched the experience); d) the stimulation of critical thinking with the purpose of developing practical solutions (as opposed to more theoretical approaches), as well as e) the quality of the power-point presentations and materials made available by the professors.

Personal Statements by the involved professors

“Students were invited to look at the challenges stemming from the ageing of the European population and to think outside the box, looking at real situations of real people and trying to figure out how needs can be met while securing sustainability of arrangements and the defence of principles of social justice, equity and participation. Although ageing is a cross-cutting theme, it is likely to be approached from different angles, depending on the disciplinary field of study and also depending on the cultural background of each individual. The wealth of experiences and views brought by a very heterogeneous group of participants was the most special aspect of the event.” Prof. Alexandra Lopes & Elísio Costa (Ageing Module)

“In the topic of Climate Change, students were challenged to devise solutions to mitigate health vulnerabilities of personas, related to climate change impacts on their living environments. The AC3 staff had an unforgettable and rewarding experience in teaching students from five continents which, despite having very diverse cultural and scientific backgrounds, were able to enthusiastically collaborate in the pursuit of solutions for real health problems of vulnerable groups.” Prof. Manuel Silva & Prof. Teresa Seixas (Climate Change Module)

“Students were introduced to the European values and discussed their contribution to the development of citizenship. By means of group dynamic activities, students debated issues related to interculturality, equality, and human rights. Firstly, they discussed them from a personal and sociological point of view and then they identified some challenges and opportunities for personal development. In conjunction with the two other main topics of this workshop, students were also challenged to reflected about their personal perspective of aging and the impact of individual actions on climate change mitigation. Students presented very interesting reflections about existing prejudices and discrimination in society. They also showed their commitment to contribute, personally and professionally, to mitigate climate change.” Prof. Sandra Torres & Prof. Filipa Vieira (Citizenship Module)

“This was the first edition of the Workshop on Hot Topics, allowing students to think critically about European values and real-word problems related to the Susteinable development Goals -SDGs (more specifically good health and wellbeing; and climate action). This pioneering activity was designed from scratch in the context of EUGLOH’s WP4, constituting a unique opportunity for students’ personal and professional development (therefore highly contributing to the achievement of the goals set to this WP). The activity counted with a multidisciplinary teaching staff (pharmacy, sociology, natural sciences and psychology) and a wide diversity of students’ profiles, which has considerably enriched the discussions and hands-on work during the workshop. The teaching team was highly motivated and did a great job in using innovative teaching methods to engage students in the activity, bringing together a large group of students and motivating them to discuss and propose solutions to real-world problems related to societal challenges.” Prof. Joana Resende, Pro-Rector for Strategic Planning, Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Transfer of the University of Porto