University Extension: Integration Experiences in Response to Social Demands

In this article we share an approach to the systematization of experiences gained from an outreach project carried out from 2004 to 2012. Analysis of the results reveals empowerment, development and transformation in the participating social actors. It was based on the Model of Integral Development,...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Bestard González, María Caridad, López García, Juan Eligio, López García, Yoisell
Format: Online
Language:spa
Published: Secretaría de Extensión Universitaria 2019
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Online Access:https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/ext/article/view/23930
Description
Summary:In this article we share an approach to the systematization of experiences gained from an outreach project carried out from 2004 to 2012. Analysis of the results reveals empowerment, development and transformation in the participating social actors. It was based on the Model of Integral Development, from Cuba, which is linked to the improvement of the quality of life of society. It originated during the initial training in the intra-university community of the Bachelor's degree in Physical Culture of the University of Cienfuegos, and it focused on health benefit as a resource of quality of life. It emerged with the experience of a group of university students of different courses who were unable to perform physical education by medical prescription and who achieved to do regular physical exercise with the use of Tai Chi Chuan. The student knowledge would later spread to older adults with chronic non-communicable diseases in neighborhoods near the University, which demanded to apply said knowledge in that community. This result created a new demand of the University from a provincial sports institution in Cienfuegos: to go beyond professionals linked to sport in different municipal communities and to make this knowledge available in order to meet social needs related to the quality of life of older adults.