Sari J Heikinnen
Idalia Guarnizo Arrobo and Jairo Núñez Criollo.
Consulate of Ecuador. Ecuador elderly people in Spain. (Spain)
Sari Heikkinen: Intergenerational relations and social
relations in the lives of USSR residents in Finland (Finland)
Session VI began with the presentation of the Consulate of Ecuador. It was told how the consulate helps people living in Spain and to move back to Ecuador if that is someone’s last will. The presentation was very touching and it made clear how meaningful the place of living is, where people feel they are home and their social relations are.
The other presentation concentrated on the social connections, how to make them visible. A practice where all the participants choose an old person who represents ethnic minority, and draw her or him a map of social relations has been introduced. During the practice, the direction of the communication between the person and the others, density of the relationships, and the quality of relationships was taken into account. It was discussed how it is not easy to measure the density and quality because they are both changing over time. The affects of changes of hearing and seeing in old age has also been discussed to the ability of keeping contacts. The map of social relationships can be used in collecting research data as sari Heikkinen has done, but it is also useful when there is a need to find out or understand who are the most meaningful persons in the life of the client or patient.
