Empowering senior citizens in leisure settings through mediation: becoming a mediator

Abstract

Empowering senior citizens helps to preserve optimal physical, mental, and social activity among this age group. It helps them grow old successfully. The development of the mediator figure is an educational opportunity for the senior citizens and their social environment, and it contributes to the promotion of the mediation culture. Thus, this study aims to explain the implementation of a program and its results, a program that seeks to develop the 'senior citizens' figure and to empower senior users of leisure facilities with basic social skills. The results were obtained from three senior centers and a total of 32 subjects that followed the training, 21 of which asked to keep spreading the culture of mediation. The main results show a significant improvement of their skills regarding conflict understanding, communication, and handling of conflict situations. Furthermore, 21 of the participants made and implemented 11 projects of social actions in the communities where they live. In addition, the program was evaluated as highly satisfactory. These findings show the effects of this kind of educational program, which predict future possibilities for mediation in senior citizens from an educational perspective.