Intergenerational Programmes An Introduction and Examples of Practice Editor Alan Hatton-Yeo Foreword The interest in intergenerational practice has grown incrementally in recent years. In this document we seek to bring together descriptions of just some of the rich diversity of intergenerational programmes that exist across the United Kingdom. The range of case studies is broad, reflecting this diversity, and in editing this book we have strived to reflect this in the articles published and the differing formats used. We are grateful to all of the authors who have taken the time to produce the richness contained here and we appreciate that for practitioners finding time to write can be difficult and demanding but it does provide the opportunity for us to share and learn from people’s disparate experiences and backgrounds. The case studies here cover the whole spectrum of intergenerational practice and settings and we are confident you will find them of value. It is our intention to produce a second volume of case studies next year and we hope that if you have projects that you wish to share that you will contact us. As well as thanking the authors for their hard work and patience I also wish to thank Louise Middleton without whose effort and good humour this guide would never have been finished. Alan Hatton-Yeo March 22nd 2006 © Beth Johnson Foundation – March 2006 Contents Page Introduction 1 Key Words 5 Case Studies Active Ageing Programme (Liverpool) 6 South Liverpool Primary Care Trust Age & Youth – School Based Project 9 Age Concern Kingston-upon-Thames Age Concern Portsmouth Intergenerational Project 12 Age Concern Portsmouth Bigger Picture Project 16 Magic Me Building Bridges Project (Cardigan Centre) 26 Older Active People Burbank Court and Brierton School Intergenerational Craft Project 28 Anchor Trust Hartlepool City Arts Project 31 City Arts Crossover Intergenerational Dance Company Project 34 Crossover Dance Company Generations United Charitable Concert December 2005 41 Arts 50 Alive! Network (Birmingham City Council) ‘Hear Me!’ 2001 – 2004, Arts and Reminiscence Project 44 Music and Dance Education (Kerrier Healthy Living Centre) Lancashire World War II Intergenerational Reminiscence Project 48 TransAge Action Burnley (Age Concern Lancashire) Learning Links 54 Charter Housing Association Mobile Phone Training for Older People 61 Age Concern Liverpool © Beth Johnson Foundation – March 2006 Case Studies (continued) Philosophy for Children (P4C) 66 LifeLink, Age Concern North Tyneside Playing Field for all Generations 74 Cheshire County Council Points of View 84 Magic Me Reminiscence Work Involving Drama and Theatre 94 European Reminiscence Network Screen Dreams 108 British Film Institute Shoebox Theatre Project 116 Shoebox Theatre Sixty Plus Intergenerational Project 119 Sixty Plus Streets Ahead 122 Well & Wise Healthy Living Network for Older People Tri Golf in Durham County 134 Age Concern Durham County Typology for the Description and Analysis of Interactive 137 Intergenerational Learning International Baccalaureate Research Unit Viewing Points 145 Studio 3 Arts Wigan Over 50s Forum 148 Over 50’s Forum (Wigan Borough Council) Write-On! Learning Through Life Project 155 University of Glamorgan Young Hearts Intergenerational Project 164 Monmouthshire County Council © Beth Johnson Foundation – March 2006 Introduction The Beth Johnson Foundation is based in Stoke-on-Trent in England. The Foundation was established in 1972 to develop new approaches to ageing that link policy, practice and research and can impact on policy and practice across the United Kingdom. During our existence we have been at the forefront of the development of health promotion for older people, advocacy for older people, life- long learning and the engagement and participation of older people in Civic Society. 1993 was the European Year of Solidarity between the Generations. In Europe there was an increasing recognition of a distance growing between young and old people. At the same time the so called “Demographic Time Bomb” was receiving much interest in the media with increasing concern about people living longer and how we would be able to afford this economically and socially. Some writers speculated about a “Generational War” with the young and old competing for resources. It was this European Year that wakened the Foundation’s interest in Intergenerational Practice. Sadly the initial interest raised by the 1993 activities dwindled but left behind a number of organisations who began to consider the matter in more detail over the following years. Among these was the Foundation and in 1997 we launched three small scale pilot projects to help us begin to develop our understanding of intergenerational practice and what its potential could be. These projects were: ¾ Mentoring of young people in schools by older volunteers. ¾ Community Action Groups of young and old people in rural areas to engage with the local politicians. ¾ Co-learning by young and old people of IT skills. In 1998 we achieved our first Government funding to develop a pilot intergenerational mentoring project working with pupils in their first year at High School who had been identified as being at risk of failure as a consequence of the impact of the transition from primary in to secondary education. This pilot demonstrated a significant impact and as a consequence we gained three year funding from the Department of Health to develop the project as a model that could be replicated across the United Kingdom. During this period we became increasingly involved in International Intergenerational work which has helped to shape our thinking and understanding. We became the UK founder members of the International Consortium for Intergenerational Programmes, which the Foundation still hosts, and co-published in 2000 a joint comparative study with UNESCO of International Intergenerational Practice that looked at ten countries, including Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. This period saw a great deal of discussion between ourselves and European partners to begin to develop a European understanding of intergenerational practice as the majority of the literature at this time was from North America and did not translate culturally. Organisations such as NIZW in the Netherlands, Dialog der Generationen in Berlin, the Peace, the Research and Conflict Resolution Centre in Gernika and © Beth Johnson Foundation – March 2006 1 infoklick in Switzerland all contributed to a gathering European perspective on intergenerational work as a method of developing community cohesion and strengthening the fabric of society. As the Foundation continued to develop its own evaluated practical projects and to work with other partners across the UK we became convinced that for Intergenerational Practice to be properly developed we needed to have a Centre of Expertise that could act as an advocacy organisation, gather evidence, develop the conceptual understanding of Intergenerational Practice, produce policy papers, organise training and consultancy support and provide the focal point for future development. It was out of this belief that funding was obtained from our then National Lottery and the Lloyds TSB Foundations for England and Wales to establish the UK Centre for Intergenerational Practice in April 2001. From the beginning we focused most of our time in to supporting practitioners to help us build the evidence base that would demonstrate to policy makers the potential contribution of intergenerational practice. We currently support an active network of over 850 organisations and practitioners who are involved in projects as diverse as: ¾ Rural learning projects to ensure people do not lose their heritage. ¾ Skills exchange between older people and young immigrants to develop language and understanding. ¾ The use of art and drama to promote understanding and develop programmes to counter drug abuse and fear of crime. ¾ Mentoring by older people of young people to promote assimilation, confidence and achievement. Building on the strength of our practitioner voice the Centre for Intergenerational Practice has been able to influence key policy makers. An example of Government involvement in Intergenerational Practice has been in Wales. Following comprehensive consultation the Welsh Assembly published its Strategy for Older People in 2003. In this strategy the Welsh Assembly recognised the importance of the communities they lived in, the relationships they experienced and their environment to the health and well being of both older people and neighbourhoods they lived in. As a consequence the strategy agreed funding to the Beth Johnson Foundation to develop a Welsh Centre for Intergenerational Practice. This has now been launched at the University of Glamorgan. Intergenerational Practice has been promoted and developed in the United Kingdom in a variety of ways by many different players. In the second part of this introduction we will look in more detail at what we believe IP to be, why it is important and what it can offer to us and our societies. Intergenerational practice aims to bring people together in purposeful, mutually beneficial activities which promote greater understanding and respect between generations and may contribute to building more cohesive communities. Intergenerational practice is inclusive, building on the positive resources that the young and old have to offer each other and those around them. © Beth Johnson Foundation – March 2006 2 These generations