1. Centre for Intergenerational Practice Conference 17-19 July 2007, Manchester Intergenerational Practice A Global View Workshop: The International and European Future of Intergenerational Activities 18th July 2007, Session 1 (11.30 – 13.00) Tabea Schlimbach, Beth Johnson Foundation „Vergangenheit - wie Zukunft - sind nur Formen der Gegenwart.“ „Past – and Future – are just Forms of the Present.“ Christian Morgenstern, 1871-1914

2. Centre for Intergenerational Practice Conference 17-19 July 2007, Manchester Introduction We can assume that there are intergenerational initiatives in practically all countries. Intergenerational Practice (IP) is not a new concept but has a long history in countries all over the world. Generations of all cultures have a need to connect with each other BUT what expectations are linked with the interaction, differs according to social and cultural contexts.  IP is not transferable without restrictions. “Intergenerational programs can have universal potential.”

3. Centre for Intergenerational Practice Conference 17-19 July 2007, Manchester Global Trends: Demographic changes Changes of family structures and relationships Breakdown of traditional support systems within communities Risk of both old and young people to be seen as burden or less valuable Negative effects of ageism Lack of mutual understanding and solidarity between generations Increased importance of learning over the whole life span Globalisation, Migration

4. Centre for Intergenerational Practice Conference 17-19 July 2007, Manchester Common Trends… Universal definition: Multidisciplinary approach to IP: programmes concern education, literacy, housing, violence, poverty, health, unemployment, environment… A need to move from the one-way traditional IP (the young learning from the old) to reciprocal learning between different generations. “Intergenerational” is a term used by professionals but still not popular for a wider audience. “ Intergenerational Programmes are social vehicles that create purposeful and ongoing exchange of resources and learning among older and younger generations.”

5. Centre for Intergenerational Practice Conference 17-19 July 2007, Manchester … and challenges in IP  Developing non-family IP  Including Middle Generations in IP concepts  Developing sound theoretical concepts for IP  Training of IP professionals  Global networking

6. Centre for Intergenerational Practice Conference 17-19 July 2007, Manchester Global Aims of IP Transferring culture, knowledge and experiences through generations Uniting generations Contributing to lifelong learning Supporting older and younger people Improving intergenerational relationships in families Improving relationships between the community's young and old To meet specific needs of the community

7. Centre for Intergenerational Practice Conference 17-19 July 2007, Manchester Regional Overview IP is at very different stages of development in different countries. Aims of IP differ according to the cultural-historical, social and political background.

8. Centre for Intergenerational Practice Conference 17-19 July 2007, Manchester USA Recent Decades: The demographic revolution in America took place earlier than in Europe. The powerful generation of the “baby boomers” is redefining retirement. IP has been a part of the voluntary, public and academic sectors since the 60’s. America has a pioneering role in the field of IP. Today: IP a well-established concept - diverse programmes available across the US. Development from focus on individual needs (60´s-90´s) to addressing community problems. Current Focus and Challenges:  Advancing the Intergenerational Agenda  Reframing public policy  Programme institutionalisation

9. Centre for Intergenerational Practice Conference 17-19 July 2007, Manchester Europe Today: Over the course of the last decade wide variety of sound concepts developed. Large variety across countries. Areas: culture and integration, cross-generational learning, coming to terms with the history… Increasing acknowledgement of IP in Social Policy. Intergenerational Learning is one of the key themes of the European Union. Recent Decades: Grass root activities: IP on an incidental basis. Systematic approach and conceptualisation only started in the 90´s Current Focus and Challenges:  Quality development, training of practitioners, evaluation  Systematic scientific research  Establish common understanding of IP  Sustainability of programmes

10. Centre for Intergenerational Practice Conference 17-19 July 2007, Manchester Asia Hard to make generalisations. Strong tradition of respect for families and elders. Major changes in family life and role of family members. IP focus: Transfer of cultural values and specific skills.  Bridging the gap between tradition and westernisation  Need of more structured and focused initiatives  Promoting a national agenda for IP and policies  More educational opportunities for children and the elderly Current Focus and Challenges:

11. Centre for Intergenerational Practice Conference 17-19 July 2007, Manchester Japan Grass root IP before “intergenerational programmes” became a popular term. Social policies are undergoing drastic reform - IP on the political agenda. Growing attention to intergenerational intervention in practice and research. Japan Intergenerational Unity Association: JIUA. China Restrictive population-control policy since 1979.  Education and wellbeing of the single child has highest priority. Intergenerational approach has just begun. Mainly family based initiatives.

12. Centre for Intergenerational Practice Conference 17-19 July 2007, Manchester Australia Idea of IP is relatively new. Not yet part of many people`s policy repertoire. The term “intergenerational" is conceptually loose. Lack of programmes explicitly involving middle generations. Focus on community building. Current Focus: There are efforts to establish an Australian network.

13. Centre for Intergenerational Practice Conference 17-19 July 2007, Manchester Africa Strong relationships in families are deep rooted in the culture. IP not yet a high profile, but there is an increasing move towards it. Projects still in early stages, often co-incidentally. Mainly family based initiatives. IP to tackle social issues (AIDS, poverty, illiteracy, teenage pregnancies). Current Focus and Challenges: Create a higher profile of IP Evaluation and documentation of projects Institutionalisation of IP

14. Centre for Intergenerational Practice Conference 17-19 July 2007, Manchester Latin America … is a youthful region in transition to population ageing. IP mainly family based. Aims of IP:  Transfer of cultural values and specific skills.  To tackle social issues such as poverty, health, basic education. Lack of formally developed IP. Current Focus and Challenges: Developing the understanding of IP Bridging the gap between tradition and globalisation Explore community places for activities outside the family Research is needed to investigate existing programmes

15. Centre for Intergenerational Practice Conference 17-19 July 2007, Manchester Trans-national cooperation and networking “It is invaluable for us to learn from and share ideas with international intergenerational experts.” Masataka Kuraoka and Satoru Yajima-Sugioka, Japan

16. Centre for Intergenerational Practice Conference 17-19 July 2007, Manchester ICIP International Consortium for Intergenerational Programmes (ICIP). Founded 2000 in the Netherlands by a group of international specialists. Aims: Network tool: exchange information and research Support of intergenerational activities Promotion of the potential and benefits of IP To compare situations and solutions from different countries Current focus:  Relaunch of the ICIP website  Support regional and global networking

17. Centre for Intergenerational Practice Conference 17-19 July 2007, Manchester Thank you very much for your interest! For more information, please look at the Literature list. If you have further questions, or if you can provide me with up to date information about IP worldwide, please send me an email. tabea.schlimbach@web.de