Heerlen Municipality and Buurtteams launch Senior Academy

During meetings in the run-up to the Heerlen Senior Citizens Agreement, it became clear that senior citizens feel the need to share their knowledge and experience. The establishment of the Heerlen Senior Citizens Academy responds to this need. Meetings can be organized throughout the city where senior citizens can pass on their knowledge and skills to young and old alike. All seniors who enjoy teaching others can contact Buurtteams by email and will receive support. These meetings can take place at various community centers within our neighborhoods and districts and are listed on the Heerlen Online website . 

Alderman Marco Peters Senior Citizens Policy): "Engaging, inspiring, and teaching others—the wealth of knowledge and experience possessed by our city's senior citizens offers enormous opportunities. Examples include a notary who teaches people about inheritance law, meetings about road safety or the pension system, or a former chef who can give cooking workshops. The initiative and needs of our seniors are central to this. In addition, we organize activities that tie in well with this, such as memory training and resilience training consisting of several sessions this month. I am extremely proud that we are joining forces with Buurtteams and, looking to the future, with many more parties and a lot of seniors to ensure that the Heerlen Senior Academy is firmly established throughout the city."

Paulien van Mierlo, director Buurtteams , adds: "When the municipality of Heerlen approached us with the idea for the Senior Academy, it immediately felt like a logical and valuable collaboration. Connecting and meeting people fits perfectly with what we do at Buurtteams . With the Senior Academy, we are creating a place for and by seniors, where knowledge, experience, and encounters come together. We hope that this initiative will spread like wildfire throughout the city."