Il volontariato come contesto di apprendimento per l’invecchiamento attivo Paolo Di Rienzo Roma Tre University, Italy Giovanni Serra Roma Tre University, Italy This is a section of Accompagnare la longevità(DOI: 10.36253/979-12-215-0744-7) by Vanna Boffo, Michele Bertani, Donatella Bramanti, Rabih Chattat, Laura Formenti Firenze University Press Florence 2025 https://doi.org/10.36253/979-12-215-0744-7.30

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This paper examines the role of volunteering in later life as a context for learning and personal development, consistent with a life span developmental perspective. Participation in volunteer activities provides older adults with meaningful opportunities to enhance emotional well-being, mitigate cognitive decline, and develop social and civic competencies. Moreover, volunteering constitutes a vehicle for promoting lifelong learning, articulating a sense of care for the community, and sustaining the potential for personal growth and transformation. Drawing on data from a national survey on volunteers’ competences and a critical review of the relevant literature, this contribution underscores the potential of volunteering as an expression of generativity and as a means of recognizing and valorizing the competencies of older adults.

 Active Citizenship Later Life Lifelong Learning Life Span Volunteering

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