Equal Opportunities for Older Women

The ZWAR initiative is supported by the state of North-Rhine-Westphalie (NRW) and was set up against the backdrop of current crises in the steel and mining industries and the associated problem of early retirement. Since 1992, women's groups have existed alongside the mixed ZWAR groups.

The initiative has been supported since 1984 by various North-Rhine-Westphalian ministries, currently by the Ministy for Women, Youth, Family and Health in NRW. It will continue to exist as long as funds can be secured.

The central ZWAR office in NRW stands for a wide-ranging programme for senior citizens' self-help, subsidised by the North-Rhine-Westphalian state, and offers services oriented mainly around work by and with retired women or women taking early retirement. The aims of the work are to maintain and promote self-help, private initiative and self-organisation in the phase after professional life or after bringing up children. The services offered and tasks pursued in NRW include: the establishment of self-help group networks, expert advice on concepts at regional level, work as multipliers, supervision of group processes, qualification progammes for people active in work with the aged in NRW on an honorary or full-time basis, expert supervision, evaluation, documentation.

- The state of NRW continually promotes ZWAR.
- Demand has been expessed by other local authority areas even outside NRW.
- All in all, there are 10 ZWAR district women's groups (networks) in 8 local authority areas in NRW, with 54 special interest- and sub-groups, working in accordance with the paedagogical concept adhered to by ZWAR.
- Furthermore, other ZWAR women's groups exist within the network of the different mixed-gender ZWAR groups.

The problems are mainly of a personnel and financial nature: a qualified full-time group supervisor has to be provided by the local authority area or by associations to work with the ZWAR women's groups. Implementing the ZWAR pedagogical concept requires a high degree of counselling.

The self-help group work is based 100% on the wishes and needs of the participents. After three years of supervision by a group supervisor, the groups can then go on to work and network autonomously.

ZWAR has been working with clubs, associations, the churches, the trades unions and other groups in North-Rhine-Westphalia since 1979. ZWAR sees its activities at all levels as work within a network.

We are available for people interested in receiving more information on our initiative by phone, post or e-mail.

The financial support does not go to the groups or the group supervisors.

Ute Schünemann-Flake: ZWAR-Frauengruppen(-netze) NRW - eine Evaluation der sozialen Arbeit in Frauengruppen, 1999
Nicht rasten und schon gar nicht rosten. Zur Lebens- und Freizeitplanung von Frauen im Alter. Ein Praxisbericht zum Modellprojekt, 1995.
Beide Veröffentlichungen sowie weiteres Informationsmaterial ist zu beziehen bei ZWAR, Adresse siehe oben. (An evaluation of social work in women's groups, 1999; Planning life and leisure for women in their old age, a report on a model project, 1995. Both publications and other information material is available from ZWAR and the above address.)

Naegele, Gerhard/Tews, Hans-Peter (Hrsg.): Lebenslagen im Strukturwandel des Alters. Alternde Gesellschaft - Folgen für die Politik, Opladen 1996
Fink, Ulf: Die neue Kunst des Helfens. Nicht Abbau, sondern Umbau des Sozialstaates, München 1990
Kade, Silvia: Altersbildung, Ziele und Konzepte, (DIE) Frankfurt 1994
Köster, Ursula: Frauen in ZWAR-Gruppen - Exemplarische Untersuchung einer Gruppe von Frauen, Dortmund 1985

Information and conceptual advice is available to people in NRW from the central office of ZWAR.