University of the Third Age
Encyclopedia
The University of the Third Age is an international organisation whose aims are the education and stimulation of retired members of the community - those in the third 'age' of life. It is commonly referred to as U3A.
. This academic model is used in many other countries, in particular in continental Europe.
organisation. This model is also used in Australia, New Zealand, the Dominican Republic and South Africa.
In the British model it is acknowledged that retired people have a lifetime of experience and, collectively, a vast amount of knowledge. This is used to arrange a syllabus for each subject where each meeting is normally led by a member of the group with specialist knowledge. Each U3A Group pays a capitation fee to the national coordinating body, and has access to a vast range of resources including a multi-media lending library, special interest newsletters and contacts with other groups with similar interests. Summer schools are held by special interest groups. Most importantly, each Group is an absolutely autonomous entity, self-financing and self-managing. Most Groups are regional in nature.
Volunteers run the entire operation, including teaching, in cyberspace. There is general agreement that not only physical but intellectual activity enrich and prolong life in the later years. Although primarily for the retired, many U3As open their membership to any people not in full-time employment, thus becoming more inclusive and widening the age range of the membership.
. For example, a group in Eyemouth
collected and exhibited many photographs of life and work in the district over the years. Some groups aim to bridge the generation gap in the field of information technology
opening up an exciting new world to many who might have been oblivious of it otherwise. Internet marketing
is especially important for members in more remote locations. There are also many less-educational activities - 'Games', including bridge
tuition and duplicate bridge playing groups; 'Health, Fitness & Leisure', including countryside walks, Theatre/Concert Clubs, Travel Clubs, Dance in all its forms etc.
The U3A can also provide a valuable resource in considering many local and national issues. Membership includes many with experience and expertise in almost all walks of life and letters. Although strictly non-political, U3A members have time to reflect in a mature fashion on such topics as the operation of public services, crime and punishment, the future of energy supplies, public funding of the arts and so on, and can reply to invitations to engage in public consultations with carefully considered and argued responses.
France
U3A started in France at the Faculty of Social Sciences in Toulouse in 1973. It was started by Prof. Pierre Vellas. In France the Third Age University is mostly associated with a local universityUniversity
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
. This academic model is used in many other countries, in particular in continental Europe.
UK & Commonwealth
By the early 1980s, the scheme reached the United Kingdom where its nature was radically changed to be more a self-helpSelf-help
Self-help, or self-improvement, is a self-guided improvement—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. There are many different self-help movements and each has its own focus, techniques, associated beliefs, proponents and in some cases, leaders...
organisation. This model is also used in Australia, New Zealand, the Dominican Republic and South Africa.
In the British model it is acknowledged that retired people have a lifetime of experience and, collectively, a vast amount of knowledge. This is used to arrange a syllabus for each subject where each meeting is normally led by a member of the group with specialist knowledge. Each U3A Group pays a capitation fee to the national coordinating body, and has access to a vast range of resources including a multi-media lending library, special interest newsletters and contacts with other groups with similar interests. Summer schools are held by special interest groups. Most importantly, each Group is an absolutely autonomous entity, self-financing and self-managing. Most Groups are regional in nature.
Eastern Europe
Some eastern European counties were introduced to the U3A quite early: Poland,Czech Republic and above all Slovenia. The Slovenian Third Age Univesrity was started by two university teachers in 1984 and has developed into a network of forty universities over the entire country.USA
However, in 1998 U3A Online http://www.u3aonline.org.au was started to provide cognitively challenging virtual courses for isolated older people from any country. Since then the initiative has been widened to include any person who regards themselves as being in their third age. More than 35 courses, all written and taught by volunteer experts from various countries, are available. In 2009, U3A Online published a paper entitled "Educational initiatives for the elderly". The paper contains contributions from a number of U3A leaders from around the world outlining the status of U3A and U3A-like organisations in different countries. That paper, and other peer-reviewed research studies based on the Successful Ageing model, are freely available from www.u3aonline.org.au.Virtual University of the Third Age
On 1 January 2009, after four years of experiments and testing, the Virtual University of the Third Age (vU3A) was launched at this site: http://vu3a.org with the intention of offering the same friendship, support and learning enjoyed by terrestrial groups. vU3A is open to anyone, in particular those who, by circumstances of isolation, health problems or other restrictions, cannot get to a U3A group. There is a small fee.Volunteers run the entire operation, including teaching, in cyberspace. There is general agreement that not only physical but intellectual activity enrich and prolong life in the later years. Although primarily for the retired, many U3As open their membership to any people not in full-time employment, thus becoming more inclusive and widening the age range of the membership.
courses
Typical courses include, educationally, Art, Classical Studies, Conversation, Computers, Crafts, Debate, Drama, History, Languages, Literature, Music, Sciences, Social Sciences, Philosophy, etc. Some study groups do not have a prepared syllabus, but draw on reports of current affairs in their topic subject to prompt conversation and research. Some groups are designed to cross disciplinary boundaries, for example, combining Society, Technology and Science in a fashion not practical in more formal academic environments. U3A groups are well positioned to conduct serious research into local history and genealogyGenealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
. For example, a group in Eyemouth
Eyemouth
Eyemouth , historically spelt Aymouth, is a small town and civil parish in Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is east of the main north-south A1 road and just north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. It has a population of circa 3,420 people .The town's name comes from its location at...
collected and exhibited many photographs of life and work in the district over the years. Some groups aim to bridge the generation gap in the field of information technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
opening up an exciting new world to many who might have been oblivious of it otherwise. Internet marketing
Internet marketing
Internet marketing, also known as digital marketing, web marketing, online marketing, search marketing or e-marketing, is referred to as the marketing of products or services over the Internet...
is especially important for members in more remote locations. There are also many less-educational activities - 'Games', including bridge
Contract bridge
Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...
tuition and duplicate bridge playing groups; 'Health, Fitness & Leisure', including countryside walks, Theatre/Concert Clubs, Travel Clubs, Dance in all its forms etc.
Newsletter
Many U3As publish local newsletters as do some of the special interest networks. The Third Age Trust, the national coordinating body in the UK, publishes an educational bulletin, "Sources", for subscribing U3A members three times annually.The U3A can also provide a valuable resource in considering many local and national issues. Membership includes many with experience and expertise in almost all walks of life and letters. Although strictly non-political, U3A members have time to reflect in a mature fashion on such topics as the operation of public services, crime and punishment, the future of energy supplies, public funding of the arts and so on, and can reply to invitations to engage in public consultations with carefully considered and argued responses.