Community Engagment
See How We Interact within CommunitiesThese are just a few examples of communities that are flourishing as a result of this program. We invite your community to try it out too! Check out our available resources, or reach out to us to see how we can help.
Education
TRAINING MODULES
for Healthcare Professionals
In 2017 and 2018, The Wisdom Project partnered with the Vanderbilt Program for Inter-Professional Learning (VPIL) and Peabody College’s Department of Human and Organizational Development to develop workshops and training modules for professionals in the fields of medicine, pharmacy, occupational therapy, and social work. Topics included the development of active listening skills and cultural humility, an important tool in compassionate healthcare. Wisdom of the Elders (WOE) continues to offer such workshops to interested organizations.
Workshops
for Community Empowerment
The Wisdom Project has also worked with various community partners such as Patterson Park Community Center and the United South and Eastern Tribes (USET) to offer workshops on community health awareness, genealogical research, cemetery conservation, and other topics as a way to foster pride and empower community members to both celebrate and gather/disseminate information about their own histories. WOE has also created a replication manual, which details our methodologies in partnership, collaboration, interview collection, and workshop facilitation to help other organizations foster relationships with the communities of which they are a part.
Qualitative Data Analysis
of Interviews of Elderly Populations
Since 2012, The Wisdom Project has conducted interviews with elderly populations from around the world, and in 2016, we began combing those interviews for qualitative data that offer insight into elderly populations’ health practices, generative lifestyles, and habits. We also mined the data for information about community engagement and its impact on long-term health goals. We are currently in the process of drafting several articles for publication, and we are creating best practice guides for geriatric healthcare professionals.
Youth & Senior Programs
Panamá
SAMAAP (Society of Friends of the Afro Antillean Museum of Panama) Annual Fair
In 2010, VFOA organized an African-based art workshop for the Children’s Corner. Run by graphic artist Gabriela de Marino, the workshop helped children learn about and create their own art featuring African-descended individuals and aesthetics.
Middle Tennessee
With a grant from Humanities Tennessee, VFOA led a humanities educational outreach program for economically disadvantaged youth and their families in Middle Tennessee. The purpose of this collaborative program was to provide participants with opportunities to learn about, critically engage in, contextualize, and develop well-grounded perspectives on their community’s history by interacting with living witnesses, print primary sources, distinguished humanities scholars, educators, and creative writers.