Page 8 - LCL Handbook EN

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work allows older adults the opportunity for personal growth and leads to overall health
(Crittenden, DeAndrade, 2015).

Another concept that will be explored is mentoring practice, which can be a useful tool
for local community leaders to share knowledge and experience, to strengthen bonds
within the community and empower them to serve as positive role models for each
other. Without competition in a friendly, open manner, it will also show to the seniors
that they're needed and welcomed as agents of change. Usually, mentoring by older
adults is discussed in the context of younger people, not seniors. Peer-mentoring
between older adults is important yet not fully explored as a research topic. We would
like to fill that gap in this area with our project. The majority of older adults share
common problems and needs that often can be met with appropriate social support.

In summary, the aim of the project LOCAL COMMUNITY LEADERS is to promote
community leadership leading to social change and community improvement among
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adults over 50. Development of leadership and mentoring within the context of older
adults will shed more light on this specific area of research from a theoretical and
practical perspective. "Agents of change" can share their knowledge and experiences
about the way they operate to inspire others to mimic their actions. Hopefully
our materials will be an inspiration to various groups in which interests are empowering
older adults and leading towards betterment of their communities.

The diverse group of researchers from Poland, Romania, Spain, Bulgaria, Greece and
Italy covers a broad geographical area of Europe presenting a variety of attitudes and
practices regarding community leadership and social attitudes towards older adults.
Within that group, organizations working on that project contain: training institutions,
a university and NGOs working with local communities. This ensures the variety of
perspectives, knowledge and experience that will be visible in the contents of our
materials.

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The Handbook "How to be a leader of a local community?" has two parts, and the
following chapters explore different aspects of community leadership and mentoring
within the context of older adults as the agents of change:
In the first chapter, a community leadership is defined and authors explain its meaning
and its purpose. It explored what the social responsibility of community leadership is
and how decision-making should be conducted. The various methods and theories of
leadership as well as the types of leadership are presented. While exploring community
leadership, it is taken into account how certain variables such as age, gender and social
background can influence leadership. The qualities of good leaders are discussed. The
problem of social change, its recognition and practices surrounding the issues are taken
into account. Finally, the authors explain the process of becoming a community leader.
In the second chapter, authors focus on mentoring. It is explored what the definition of
mentoring is, what the differences between leadership and mentoring are. Authors
elaborate on how those two definitions can be connected with each other. There is also
explained the differentiation between the role of mentor and mentee, what are the phases
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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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