Senior ON Plus - Cross-border therapeutic workshops for seniors

Recent months have made us painfully aware that "we are fragile creatures, made of the most delicate matter" (Olga Tokarczuk). The Covid 19 pandemic overnight shook our sense of security, had a negative impact on the psyche, limited the possibilities of direct contact with our beloved ones. Now, the most important task is to restore weakened interpersonal relations and cultivate contacts, because mutual support accelerates recovery and allows you to deal with trauma faster. The need to help rebuilding the social networks gave rise to the project "Senior ON Plus – Cross-border therapeutic workshops for seniors" implemented by the Philharmonic in Szczecin and the People's University in Prenzlau.

Its initiators want to encourage the elderly to be active, make new friends, break the routine, indulge in passions, take advantage of the cultural offer, both in the real and virtual world.

The assumptions of the workshops are the continuation of the ideas that formed the basis of the project "Senior ON. Cross-border training on access to online culture ”. The organization of the meeting in the "live" formula, which best integrates the inhabitants of the Euroregion Pomerania, became possible thanks to the growing number of vaccinated people.
The program of the Friday meeting is very attractive and varied, and the guarantee of successful workshops will be the experienced and committed instructors.

The African dance lesson will be led by Joanna Mikołajczyk, the art therapist from Warsaw. About what the participants can expect, he says passionately: “We will enjoy the joy of simple steps and movement actions to the sounds of African music and African drums. […] African dances allow us to express non-verbal content that is often difficult for us, allow us to increase awareness of our own body, awaken positive energy and sunshine in us, help to relieve psychophysical tensions and gain distance from ourselves ”.

The choreotherapist will be accompanied on djembe drums by: Rafał Krzanowski, Andrzej Janusz and Paweł Sasim
The participants of the project Ania Bieluń and Ula Bieluń from Kamień Pomorski, the owner of a small family manufacture with a friendly name: the Ministry of Good Soap, will familiarize them with the secrets of producing natural cosmetics. They write humorously about their Ministry: “MDM was created out of a combination of a soap obsession, a distance borrowed from Monty Python and their Ministry of Strange Steps, and the feeling that it is good to do right. […] For us, the Ministry is a piece of floor on which we make our own terms. […] Every day we try to make our workshop and shop places where you can take a breath ”.

The relaxation workshops with the use of ethnic instruments will be conducted by Łukasz Mazurek from the Studio of Technology and Natural Therapy "Gong" in Szczecin, a certified physiotherapist and masseur, a student of masters from Nepal. The sounds of Tibetan bowls and gongs soothe muscle tension, help to calm down and restore the inner harmony. During the workshops, the cerebral hemispheres synchronize, the tension drops, and the participants experience a state of deep relaxation.

The workshops will be registered and made available on the Internet on the website of the Philharmonic in Szczecin a month after the event, on September 13th, 2021. The workshops on the Polish side will be attended by students of the Seaside University of the Third Age in Międzyzdroje and the Academy of Every Age of the Educational and Promotional Society Business-Pro from Świnoujście, and on the German side, students of the People's University of Prenzlau.

Live actively, healthily, make friends, smile and look at the world with curiosity – these are the slogans of this energetic meeting.

We wish all participants to have great fun and unforgettable impressions!

Workshop program:

12.30 – the arrival of participants to the Philharmonic;
12.45 – 13.15 – lunch at the Symphony Cafe (Philharmonic Hall)
13.15 – 13.45 – visiting the Philharmonic with a guide (in two languages – Polish and German)
14.00 – 15.00 – workshops on creating natural cosmetics (group I) / African dance workshops (group II)
15.00 – 16.00 – workshops on creating natural cosmetics (group II) / African dance workshops (group I)
16.00 – 17.00 – participants' integration activities – African dances (Philharmonic hall)
17.00 – 18.00 – afternoon tea at the Symfonia Cafe (organic, natural products)
18.00 – 19.00 – relaxation workshops with the use of ethnic instruments: sound bowls and gongs, with vocal elements (Philharmonic hall; groups I and II)
19.00 – end of workshops

The project "Senior ON Plus – Cross-border therapeutic workshops for seniors" is co-financed by the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund and the state budget (Small Projects Fund under the Interreg V A Cooperation Program Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania / Brandenburg / Poland in the Pomerania Euroregion) ".