The Development of Elderly as Model Communicator for Self-Empowerment by Peace Innovations

Abstract

This research article aims to 1) investigate context, problems, needs, concepts of communication theory, and self-empowerment perception among the elderly in Pathum Thani Province; 2) to investigate Buddhist peaceful means conducive to peace innovation to enhance self-empowerment among the elderly; and 3) to create, experiment, and present the results of developing elderly as a model in communication for self-empowerment through peaceful innovation. The study used a mixed-method research by way of pilot experiment. The tools used for data collection were in-depth interviews with 11 people, focus group discussions with 6 experts, and experiment with 15 elderly people in Bueng Yitho Sub-district. The data were measured by competency assessment form among the elderly, observation, reflection. The obtained data were analyzed by t-test.

From the study, the following results were found: 1) The problems include different political viewpoints, which lead to mistrust, and people's unwillingness to communicate honestly with each other, resulting in a splitting of people into various groups who only engage in activities in which they are interested. The elderly's mistrust and misunderstanding fuels competition both inside and outside of the centers. The concepts used for developing the communication of the elderly include peaceful communication and self-empowerment. 2) The Buddhist peaceful means conducive to self-empowerment of the elderly include Bala (five powers) comprising saddhā (confidence) which is used to awaken the power of faith and confidence in one’s own worth and potential; viriya (energy) which is used to awaken one's potential worth of forming an alliance or volunteering for the public good; sati (mindfulness) which is used to awaken understanding in self-transformation. self-awareness. and being in the present moment; samādhi (concentration) which is used to awaken one’s concentration and one-pointedness. paññā (wisdom) which is used to awaken one’s wisdom to solve problems and lead a life living with others in the society. All of these are the model in communication for self-empowerment. 3) The development of elderly as a model in communication for self-empowerment by peace innovation involves the participatory training course that includes the following six activities: (1) having love and faith in oneself; (2) inspirational stories; (3) creating true happiness by oneself; (4) uniting the power of volunteers; (5) network building; and (6) creating a space for empowering elderly. The course lasted three days, twenty-one hours, and one month of practice. From the experiment, it was found that the posttest on communication competency for self-empowerment of the elderly was higher than the pretest with a statistical significance of 0.05 and t-test of 6.69. Following the workshop, the elderly form an alliance and launch four enterprises involving a coffee shop, Thai dance, food as medicine, and value addition from waste. A body of knowledge gained from the study is called ‘5 Strong Elderly Model’.