The SESAM Academy The SESAM Academy stands for Academy for Seniors and Society. Within the Academy retired managers can follow a training course and become a voluntary consultant for non-profit organizations. The training course encompasses 10 study days, some days of homework and some days field practice. The training takes place in a period of ten weeks, the seniors are then prepared for their new roles: consultant instead of manager and volunteer instead of paid staff. Different guest speakers inform them about the issues and culture of the non-profit sector and through workshops, case studies and personal reflection they learn more about themselves and their roles and behavior as consultant. After the course they become SESAM consultant – on a voluntary bases - in all kind of non-profit organizations, mostly on a project base. The aim of their support is to improve the quality and effectiveness of the organization.
The creation of the Academy During the opening event of the International Year of Volunteers 2001, representatives of the Centre of Active Aging of the University of Maryland, Washington DC, presented their model of active aging in the USA. The director of Dutch organization NPOE was very enthusiastic and started the process to introduce it in the Netherlands. Summer 2002 a project manager was asked to work out the program: finding funding, finding partners, senior’s and applying the principles to the Dutch situation. The first step was inviting the team of the University of Washington and interviewing them about the way they set up their program, what their aims were etc. etc. During those two days three Dutch opinion leaders in the domain of volunteers and seniors issues were invited as well and they gave presentations about the Dutch situation: differences and similarities between the situation in Holland and the situation in the United States were explored. This was an important step in the whole process. What can you learn from others and how to apply it? And to improve this process, invite professionals who are well informed about the situation in your own country and the country you are adopting the concept from. This makes necessary changes also more acceptable and founded. For the Netherlands we decided to contact retired seniors with managerial experience (upper management) who were motivated to work in the non-profit sector. In September we installed an Advisory Committee and asked a very highly recommended person, Herman Wijffels, chairperson from the SER (an important advisory board for the government), to become chairperson. For the function of vice-chairperson, we asked Tineke Lodders, very well known in the volunteer sector and with a high profile in politics. With the commitment of those two people, a lot of other important people became interested in the Academy and this helped opening doors. About 15 people joined the Advisory Committee.
We were able to recruit twelve seniors to start with. To prepare the retired seniors for their new role and function, we wanted to give them a training course. To develop the content of this course, to get a better insight in work they could do in the non-profit sector and to get commitment of the non-profit sector, we installed a steering committee. For this steering committee we invited directors of all kind of umbrella organizations of the non-profit sector: the sport sector, cultural sector, health and welfare sector, elderly sector. This was very important in creating commitment for the project. We were seen as a partner, not as a rival. All kind of different funding organizations received the project plan, and we created a website
The Academy offers support to the non-profit sector by introducing professional methods and techniques and it creates a new role for retired seniors in society. In November a professional was invited to develop the curriculum and in January 2003 we started with the first group. In 2004 the Academy became an independent organization (a foundation) and left the status as project of the NPOE. The Academy employs one part-time office manager (24 hours a week). The Academy is self-supporting by asking € 150,- per day for the service of the SESAM Consultant.
Now, 2009, looking back: - Over 70 Seniors are active as a SESAM voluntary consultant, also the director of the Academy is a volunteer - Over 600 organizations have received support - The seniors are enjoying their new role and new social network, it improves their well being - The seniors work together in regional teams, using each other’s experience - An internal communication system, based on internet, is installed and enables communication between SESAM Consultants and staff members - Twice a year the whole group comes together. Most of the time a guest speaker is invited but socializing is also an important part of the program - Getting assignments from non-profit organizations is mostly done by the consultants themselves - The advisory and work procedures of the SESAM Consultant have been standardized - The process of request of support of an organization to an offering of help of the Academy is standardized - The fee of € 150,- a day is enough to support all necessary activities of the SESAM Academy in the future
