Project FRIEND: A Toolkit to foster friendships in later life
The FRIEND Project
Having good social relations is an important protective factor and a key element in promoting a person’s general well-being. The FRIEND project is an European initiative funded by the Erasmus+ programme. Our mission is to develop a blended learning programme that enhances the social skills and coping strategies of older adults, helping to prevent and reduce the risk of social isolation and loneliness. Having good social relations is an important protective factor and a key element in promoting a person’s general well-being.
Therefor, our training programme is designed to promote the social inclusion and participation of individuals over 65, thereby improving their overall well-being. To support this, we provide a comprehensive toolkit for local learning centres, which includes a train-the-trainer programme and a best practice guide for sustainable implementation.
FRIEND aims to make a significant impact on social inclusion by targeting core skills essential for connecting with others. Our programme is inspired by the Friendship Enrichment Programme (FEP), initially developed and tested in the Netherlands by Nan Stevens in 2001 for in-person delivery, and later adapted for online use by researcher Tamara Bouwman and colleagues (2016).
By combining the benefits and advantages of both in-person and online modalities, the FRIEND programme is tailored to meet the specific needs of older people, ensuring they can thrive socially and emotionally in a supportive community.
The FRIEND Toolkit consists of:
- The FRIEND blended training programme aimed at older people to improve their social skills and more functional coping strategies in order to increase their social circle, improve existing relationships and reduce the risk of social isolation. The programme consists of face-to-face sessions, online materials and a methodological guide also containing a report on the need analysis that guided the development of the programme.
- A training programme dedicated to professionals and volunteers to provide them with the necessary skills, competences and tools to implement the FRIEND programme in their organisational contexts.
- A best practice guideline to help organisations and training centres sustain the implementation of the programme in the long term.
The consortium of partners from all over Europe with different areas of expertise is working together to develop the Friendship Course. The European project team FRIEND consists of the following partners: Stichting Gouden Dagen (Netherlands), Leyden Academy (Netherlands), Akademia Humanistyczno Ekonomica (Poland), Approximar (Portugal), Anziani e Non Solo (Italy), Fundación Harena (Spain).
Website: www.friendproject.eu
