AVA Magazine - September 22
Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action Magazine.
Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action Magazine.
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<strong>22</strong> <strong>AVA</strong> | <strong>September</strong> 20<strong>22</strong><br />
Are you an older person who feels out of<br />
touch with the younger generations that<br />
you once felt so connected to? Are you a<br />
younger person who feels as though you can’t<br />
relate to people in older generations? Or perhaps<br />
you have simply observed a breakdown in<br />
relationships between generations? Either way,<br />
that’s absolutely fine. But we want to change<br />
it. The post-industrial shift to independent living<br />
over the last three decades has acted to divide<br />
generations who were once so connected.<br />
As a result, cultural walls have grown and<br />
opportunities for intergenerational relationships<br />
have dissipated.<br />
At Generations Working Together, our primary<br />
goal is to make Scotland the first intergenerational<br />
nation. What do we mean by this? We want<br />
everyone to have the opportunity to form<br />
meaningful intergenerational relationships,<br />
which will generate opportunities to learn<br />
from each other, break down age barriers,<br />
challenge stigma and ageism and generally<br />
make Scotland a nicer place to live, where<br />
people of all generations can flourish.<br />
There exists a narrative that looks upon<br />
intergenerational practice as ‘a nice thing to do’.<br />
And it is. But we want to challenge this narrative,<br />
because whilst it’s true, it’s not enough. Instead,<br />
we want to see intergenerational practice<br />
accounted for as a necessary component of<br />
community development, urban planning,<br />
education and more. There’s extensive research<br />
that demonstrates its effectiveness in combating<br />
loneliness and social isolation, and subsequently<br />
improving health and wellbeing. Re-engaging<br />
communities in this way is particularly important<br />
after two years of lockdowns and ought to be<br />
a policy priority for local councils and national<br />
governments.<br />
Each year, Generations Working Together<br />
comes together with 10 other countries to<br />
celebrate Global Intergenerational Week.<br />
This is an amazing week whereby exciting<br />
intergenerational projects from all over the<br />
world are showcased, expert speakers offer<br />
deep insights on all things intergenerational and<br />
opportunities for learning and networking are<br />
presented. We are looking to recruit volunteers<br />
for Global Intergenerational Week 2023, which<br />
will take place between Monday 25th April and<br />
Sunday 1st May!<br />
Volunteers will be fully trained to take part in<br />
a range of activities related to the promotion<br />
of intergenerational week across Scotland.<br />
Activities can be done from home. Volunteers<br />
will be required to work independently with<br />
support from GWT’s staff. If you would like to get<br />
involved, please visit our website here.<br />
Intergenerational work is an essential ingredient<br />
to creating a fair, equal and thriving Scotland.<br />
If you would like to learn more about what<br />
we do at GWT, visit our website or feel free to<br />
contact our Policy Officer, Ruairidh at ruairidh@<br />
generationsworkingtogether.org.