AVA Magazine - September 22

22 AVA | September 2022
Are you an older person who feels out of
touch with the younger generations that
you once felt so connected to? Are you a
younger person who feels as though you can’t
relate to people in older generations? Or perhaps
you have simply observed a breakdown in
relationships between generations? Either way,
that’s absolutely fine. But we want to change
it. The post-industrial shift to independent living
over the last three decades has acted to divide
generations who were once so connected.
As a result, cultural walls have grown and
opportunities for intergenerational relationships
have dissipated.
At Generations Working Together, our primary
goal is to make Scotland the first intergenerational
nation. What do we mean by this? We want
everyone to have the opportunity to form
meaningful intergenerational relationships,
which will generate opportunities to learn
from each other, break down age barriers,
challenge stigma and ageism and generally
make Scotland a nicer place to live, where
people of all generations can flourish.
There exists a narrative that looks upon
intergenerational practice as ‘a nice thing to do’.
And it is. But we want to challenge this narrative,
because whilst it’s true, it’s not enough. Instead,
we want to see intergenerational practice
accounted for as a necessary component of
community development, urban planning,
education and more. There’s extensive research
that demonstrates its effectiveness in combating
loneliness and social isolation, and subsequently
improving health and wellbeing. Re-engaging
communities in this way is particularly important
after two years of lockdowns and ought to be
a policy priority for local councils and national
governments.
Each year, Generations Working Together
comes together with 10 other countries to
celebrate Global Intergenerational Week.
This is an amazing week whereby exciting
intergenerational projects from all over the
world are showcased, expert speakers offer
deep insights on all things intergenerational and
opportunities for learning and networking are
presented. We are looking to recruit volunteers
for Global Intergenerational Week 2023, which
will take place between Monday 25th April and
Sunday 1st May!
Volunteers will be fully trained to take part in
a range of activities related to the promotion
of intergenerational week across Scotland.
Activities can be done from home. Volunteers
will be required to work independently with
support from GWT’s staff. If you would like to get
involved, please visit our website here.
Intergenerational work is an essential ingredient
to creating a fair, equal and thriving Scotland.
If you would like to learn more about what
we do at GWT, visit our website or feel free to
contact our Policy Officer, Ruairidh at ruairidh@
generationsworkingtogether.org.