Page 7 - LCL Handbook EN

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number and proportion of older persons in their population. According to data from
World Population Prospects (2019): by 2050, one in six people in the world will be over
age 65 (16%), up from one in eleven in 2019 (9%). It is necessary to understand the
demographic trends in order to build a better future.

At the same time, we can notice that in modern times there is a problem with
discrimination of seniors, who often suffer from loneliness and social detachment.
Therefore, there is a need to motivate them to participate in the local community, to take
action that will prevent social exclusion and marginalization. Research suggests that
maintaining social participation late in life has a positive influence on quality of life,
psychological well-being, physical health, cognitive functioning and life expectancy.
However, there is an increasing trend for older people to live alone, some of them in
unsafe and insecure environments. This needs to be addressed and fixed (Cachadinha,
Pedro, Fialho, 2011).
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The leading example of change being possible are the active seniors themselves, who
often serve as leaders for their local communities, directing towards a good change and
community development. The problem is that they often remain invisible to the broader
audience. One of the goals should be to make these people feel seen and appreciated, to
make the phenomenon of community leadership among seniors a concept that will be
widely recognized and spread.

We think and talk about leadership in a variety of contexts. On Wikipedia we will find
that leadership is an ability of an individual or organization to "lead" or guide other
individuals, teams, or entire organizations. In the context of leadership, this Handbook
will consider a specific setting for leadership actions that is neighborhoods and
communities. Community leadership is an important contributor to local development.
Community groups, voluntary organizations, and charities are taking a lot of actions to
modernize their communities to raise the standard of living of its inhabitants. They're
agents of change. They want to make a meaningful difference on the social issues that
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are important to them and the communities in which they live (Evans, 2012).
In every community, we can find local individuals who are willing and able to assume
some responsibility for community betterment by being “out front” to ignite and
facilitate action to represent the community’s interests and play the role of protecting
them (Chaskin et al., 2001). Community leaders have a vast range of roles, from
mobilizing communities for a common cause, to designing courses of action and
overcoming common challenges. Effective leadership within the community field is
necessary in order to assert successful community action, encourage social well-being,
and improve community viability (Ricketts, 2005).

The field of leadership experiences continuous growth in recent years, but there's
scarcity of materials that focus precisely on leadership among older adults. Considering
the age structure of our population, this needs to change. Developing and engaging
leadership among older adults is important, the leadership in the context of volunteer
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This project has been funded with the support from the European Union. This
publication reflects the views only of the author, and the European Commission or Fundacja Rozwoju Systemu Edukacji
– National Agency of Erasmus+ in Poland cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information
contained herein.
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