"It is my day": reflections from the Global Intergenerational Congress
As I read through my notes and reflect on my two days at the Global Intergenerational Congress in Glasgow, one exchange shared by Kate Hodson from Magic Me, an intergenerational arts charity, feels like a good place to begin:
“What was it like in your day?”
“It is my day.”
Kate shared this during her presentation about It’s on the Cards, a project bringing primary school children and older neighbours in Tower Hamlets together to explore ageism through birthday cards.
It’s a short reply, but powerful. It made me think about how easily we can speak about older people as though their lives and contributions belong to the past. Their lives are happening now. Everyone has things they want to do, learn, share and change.
I attended through the Volunteer Academy, with a particular interest in how volunteering can connect generations in Highland.
What is intergenerational practice?
We got off to a great start with opening words from Alison Clyde, CEO of Generations Working Together, followed by Trent Stamp from The Eisner Foundation. Trent spoke about supporting younger and older people together through intergenerational programmes, recognising everyone as someone with something to contribute.
But what does “intergenerational” mean in practice? GWT uses a definition developed by the Beth Johnson Foundation. It describes bringing generations together through purposeful activities that benefit everyone involved, build understanding and respect, and strengthen communities.
For volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations, this could mean people from different generations planning and running an activity together or sharing skills as they volunteer alongside each other. The important part is creating opportunities for everyone to contribute, learn, and build lasting relationships.
An unexpected arrival
Junior Up Helly Aa from Shetland treated us to quite a performance to get the congress started. Woolly-jumpered musicians began playing before a group of Vikings came storming in from behind us, shouting a Viking cry as the music played. I must admit, for a moment it really felt like the congress had been invaded – a testament to their authenticity as Vikings!
The performance captured how deeply Viking tradition runs through Shetland culture. The younger generation brought their own voice to the performance by adapting the lyrics of an Oasis song to fit Viking life. This showed how a living tradition can connect generations. Younger people were not simply inheriting it, but joining older community members in shaping what it becomes next.
Martin Summers, chairperson of the Junior Up Helly Aa Committee, explained how younger and older generations prepare for the festival together, sharing skills in music, woodworking and boat building. Young people develop confidence and take on responsibility, while conversations happen naturally as everyone works alongside each other. He also shared that next year the group will have its first ever female Jarl. It was lovely to hear how the tradition is continuing to develop, with young people helping shape its future.
What happens when people create together?
In Magic Me’s It’s on the Cards, children and older residents tackled age-related stereotypes by looking at the ageist humour in everyday birthday cards, before designing their own. Both generational groups had preparation sessions before coming together, and their work became part of The Coming of Age exhibition at The Wellcome Collection in central London. The project gave them something to explore together, including assumptions they might not otherwise have questioned.
Kate also shared Magic Me’s filmmaking with girls and older women. Participants explored women’s history in their community, placing a specific importance on oral histories. Kate shared a reflection from the participants that the process of making the film meant more to them than the finished film itself. This reflects the aims of intergenerational programmes - a film gives people something to work towards, but the time spent talking, learning and getting to know each other has a value of its own.
The first workshop I attended, led by GenLab Collective from Singapore explored how to give people a say in that process from the beginning. Their Designing Together programme, developed with NTUC Health, brought eight younger volunteers and 11 older men together to tackle a practical question they faced in their community: how could they encourage more older men to get involved in activities at their local Active Ageing Centres?
Across five sessions, participants explored the men’s experiences and interests, came up with ideas for activities, and tested and refined them using feedback. The older men helped decide what would appeal to people like them, with younger volunteers contributing to the same process. For me, this showed why involving both generations in planning and co-creation matters: people should have a meaningful say in what they are being invited to join.
One workshop participant mentioned “health by stealth”, a phrase I hadn’t heard before but really liked. People might join an activity because it sounds enjoyable or gives them something to do with others. That involvement can also create opportunities to be more active and socially connected, supporting their health and wellbeing through something they want to take part in.
During their workshop, Maine Children’s Trust shared their Family Support Communities programme and the Strengthening Families Protective Factors Framework, which focuses on family strengths, social connections and access to support. They explored how frameworks can help name and measure work organisations are already doing. For me, this raised a useful question for Highland: how much intergenerational work already happens without that label? Recognising it, planning together with younger and older people and agreeing how to capture its impact could help us build on it and better demonstrate the difference it makes.
Everyone has something to offer
This connected with a workshop led by Mark Meridy from DOROT and Kristen Kiefer from Generations United. DOROT’s intergenerational work creates opportunities for people to build relationships through shared interests. Its GENuine Connections programme, for example, brings teenagers and adults aged 65+ together in regular online workshops with a trained facilitator. One element of DOROT’s approach that particularly interested me was bringing participants together as one group of volunteers, with everyone contributing, learning and benefiting. Mark also explained that their understanding of intergenerational work extends beyond the young–old pairings we might immediately picture. A 50-year-old volunteering alongside a 90-year-old, for example, brings together different generations in their project. It made me reflect on how the labels we use can shape who we imagine these projects are for, and whose contribution we recognise.
Tito Mwenda, co-lead of the TogetherforSDGs School Clubs initiative in Kenya, shared how grandmothers were contributing as mentors and knowledge holders in Kenyan classrooms, supporting learning about gender equality. One participant’s words, shared during his presentation, stayed with me: “Retirement is not to be tired.”
For volunteer-involving organisations, this raises useful questions about how we design and describe roles. Do we assume who will offer support and who will receive it? Do our roles give everyone opportunities to contribute their ideas, skills and experience?
The discussion also highlighted the support needed to make this work: clear expectations, skilled facilitation and active listening. Even taking a moment to reflect back what someone has said can help people feel heard and check that we have understood them. Building relationships across different experiences and opinions takes care, and volunteers need support with that too. For anyone exploring this further, Generations United has guidance on quality programmes and an Intergenerational Evaluation Toolkit.
Relationships can open other doors
Elizabeth Waliuba from Imarisha Usawa in Kenya shared a powerful example of how connections can reach beyond the activity where they began. Through BALANCE360, basketball creates opportunities for girls and young women to build confidence, develop leadership and connect with older generations. The programme also provides space for conversations about gender equality and decisions affecting their lives.
Elizabeth told us about a young participant whose family could not afford her school fees. When people in her community noticed she was no longer attending school, they came together to cover the cost so she could return. It was a moving example of how relationships built through a project can grow into a wider network of support.
Learning from each other through technology
Alongside my Volunteer Academy role, I also work on digital inclusion at HTSI, looking at barriers people face in accessing and using digital technology. The IG TECH workshop brought these two areas together.
Professor Skye Leedahl and Dr Jill Juris explored how intergenerational programmes can respond to different needs within the same community. Students might need practical experience in communication, customer service or working with older adults, while older people might want support to use technology. Bringing those needs together gives both groups something to offer and something to learn.
What particularly interested me was how they planned for both sides of that relationship. Students need preparation relevant to their learning and future work, as well as support to adapt their approach to each older learner’s interests, goals and pace. Through my digital inclusion work, I know how much that individual approach matters. What someone wants to do with technology, and what helps them feel confident enough to try, will be different for everyone.
Their InterGenerational Technology Engagement Checklist for Higher Education helps organisations think through these details, from preparation to evaluation. It gives partnerships a structure to work from, with room to adapt to the people involved and the resources available.
How can volunteering help connect the generations?
Wanting to contribute and being able to volunteer are different things. Work, study, caring responsibilities and travel costs can affect what people of any age can commit to. It made me think about how we design opportunities around people’s circumstances, as well as their interests and skills.
Where organisations have a mainly older volunteer base, intergenerational projects offer a chance to bring people together around something they both care about. Younger and older volunteers can help shape the work, share responsibility and learn from each other. Everyone brings skills and experience, and everyone has opportunities to gain confidence, build relationships and feel valued.
The potential reaches beyond the organisation. Working towards a shared goal can help people challenge assumptions about other generations and understand each other’s lives. Volunteering can become a way to strengthen connections across a community, while making a useful contribution together.
How can volunteering help connect the generations?
Wanting to contribute and being able to volunteer are different things. Work, study, caring responsibilities and travel costs can affect what people of any age can commit to. It made me think about how we design opportunities around people’s circumstances, as well as their interests and skills.
Where organisations have a mainly older volunteer base, intergenerational projects offer a chance to bring people together around something they both care about. Younger and older volunteers can help shape the work, share responsibility and learn from each other. Everyone brings skills and experience, and everyone has opportunities to gain confidence, build relationships and feel valued.
The potential reaches beyond the organisation. Working towards a shared goal can help people challenge assumptions about other generations and understand each other’s lives. Volunteering can become a way to strengthen connections across a community, while making a useful contribution together.
Continuing the conversation
If you involve volunteers in Highland and would like to explore how different generations could work together, please get in touch at iona.macphee@highlandtsi.org.uk.
For organisations wanting to learn more, Generations Working Together membership offers advice, resources, networks and training opportunities. Membership is free for individuals in Scotland and eligible community, public and third sector organisations.
If you’re interested in volunteering with a project that connects generations, please contact us to explore opportunities. GWT also advertises a Volunteer Intergenerational Community Connector role, supporting local networks and helping others get involved. Speaking of networks
Finally, a big thank you to Generations Working Together, everyone involved in organising the congress, and the speakers and delegates who shared their experiences so openly. There was so much to learn from, and I’m looking forward to continuing the conversations here in Highland.
