These events were the latest in a programme of work funded by the Office of Civil Society to develop youth-led intergenerational practice and provided an opportunity for numerous projects including several youth-led intergenerational pilots to showcase their work. These included: East Riding District Council buddying scheme; Peterborough youth service; Jewish Lads and Girls Brigade intergenerational projects; Nacro - oral histories project in East Wythenshawe; and Trafford prevention team intergenerational and multicultural project.
In addition, nine of the 12 local authority Generations Together areas: Hammersmith and Fulham; Luton; Manchester; Northamptonshire; Plymouth; Reading; Somerset; Wakefield; and Worcester presented summaries of their extensive intergenerational work.
Peta Halls, development officer at the National Youth Agency, said: "Generations Together has added a different dimension to intergenerational work, and with significant government funding these programmes illustrate a wealth of intergenerational projects that have also brought a number of challenges, including sustainability and legacy, as the funding comes to an end in March 2011."
Many delegates and presenters alike spoke of the need to get strategic buy-in for intergenerational work to become sustainable and embedded within existing strategies, as without a strategic lead it is difficult to take work beyond project-based intergenerational practice. Key to gaining strategic buy-in is the ability to demonstrate impacts and outcomes intergenerational practice brings.
Peta Halls suggests: "Intergenerational practice can bring many benefits to participants. These include: increased understanding and mutual respect between the generations, reducing fear of crime and providing volunteering opportunities for both young and old alike. One of the challenges for youth sector organisations is to make intergenerational practice a part of integrated youth support services and ensure it fits strategically with localism and the big society and healthy community agendas."
The NYA and Beth Johnson Foundation are hosting a final invitation only Intergenerational Youth Learning Network end of project showcase event on 17 March 2011 in Birmingham, and youth-led intergenerational practice case studies and end of programme report will be published to coincide with the European Day of Solidarity Between Generations on 29 April 2011. For further information, please email Peta Hall on: petah@nya.org.uk.
