Project lead: Civil Society Organisation

• Volunteers

Older people’s involvement: Older people were involved in the age-friendly practice at multiple or all stages

Details on older people’s involvement: A group of pensioners has been meeting to exchange beginner painting tips, and they have become volunteers of one of the most important cultural spaces in Zenica where older adults create and exhibit their artworks. In addition to painting and handicraft courses, the association organizes events such as exhibitions of members’ works, book promotions, and artistic gatherings.

Has the impact of this age-friendly practice been analysed: No

Do you plan to evaluate your age-friendly practice? Yes

Feedback:
Naš Most started bringing together older adults from Zenica and surrounding areas through artistic and cultural initiatives eight years ago, most of whom still attend association’s activities. Most association members hadn’t previously engaged in creative activities. The association, which had about 30 active members seven years ago, has more than 100 today.

Reflections:
Loneliness and social isolation are major challenges older adults in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been facing. There is the lack of initiatives offering so called “life improvement” activities. For this reason, various abilities and skills, and the knowledge of older adults remain untapped, while due to exclusion, they become susceptible to mental illness (primarily depression), which has a significant negative impact on the quality of life of the older adults. Working with people not used to communication platforms like Viber or social networks like Facebook is another major challenge of working during the pandemic. Adjusting to the new ways of socialization and collaboration has been difficult for most of the Naš Most’s membership, whose average age is 60. The association ran several offline training sessions on how to use smartphones once the strict epidemiological measures had been lifted. But a few women still felt discouraged by the amount of information they needed to absorb, and haven’t continued to participate in smartphone-based activities.

Challenges:
Older people’ often-limited digital skills can hamper online efforts. The organization has held several internet training sessions, but it is not enough. Insufficient knowledge of digital tools such as social networks also makes it challenging to promote association activities online. The average age of the members is 60, and attempts to recruit younger volunteer staff have so far been unsuccessful. Activities are financed from donations and membership fees, which have grown but are still insufficient. Association members thing that younger volunteers could communicate more quickly and skillfully with the public through social networks, increase the group’s visibility, and help find donors. Financial contributions from the city have been symbolic, and the association has outgrown its space. The number of members and activities have long exceeded capacity, and the need for social distancing makes organizing activities even more difficult.