Background and Contact

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.  

Aims

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

Benefits to Older People

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

Benefits to Young People  

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

Benefits to Community

Bringing together two separate groups or institutions

Helping increase dialogue and respect between generations

Providing a performance for local community

Where are these Intergenerational Projects?

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