Intergenerational Projects?
What are Intergenerational projects?
Drama workers engage with a primary school class and a group of older members of the local community to create a performance piece based upon the lives and experiences of the older people. This is performed by the young people at the school at an appropriate venue in the community.
The older residents might be an existing community or 'Third Age' group or an ad hoc group of local people brought together for the project.
To foster a new link between two existing service providers
To bring together older and younger people from the same community
To offer an outlet to the older people’s stories and life experience.
To provide a new and stimulating activity for the older people
To encourage mutual understanding between generations
To help boost the young people’s self esteem and confidence through drama and performance
To create and perform a new piece of community theatre
To link with the curriculum to help teach recent history through first hand accounts
To provoke thought and debate amongst the young people
To celebrate the diversity of the local community through community access to project
Sharing and validating life experiences with peers and young people
Provides stimulation through participation in a new activity
Introduction to peers and young people
An outlet to be listened to and respected
An opportunity to record a valuable archive
Learning about older people’s experiences
Greater communication with and understanding of older people
Experience of the creative drama process
Opportunity to develop communication skills
Opportunity to work collaboratively on a common task
Help increase young people’s confidence through public performance
Bringing together two separate groups or institutions
Helping increase dialogue and respect between generations
Providing a performance for local community
In the past 5 years, there have been projects in Coldingham, Coldstream, Duns (twice), Eccles, Kirkhope, Lilliesleaf, Reston (twice), Swinton, Yarrow and Yetholm involving almost 400 young people and over 100 older residents