£400,000 to help bring generations together

A decision to award grants totalling £400,000 to 13 Manchester projects aimed at increasing understanding between the younger and older generations received a warm welcome today (Friday 24 July 2009).

Councillor Rosa Battle, Manchester City Council's lead member for intergenerational work, said: "This new money will help support some really good projects that bring younger and older people together in positive and interesting ways that improve understanding between generations. These projects are a good example of how spending time together can bring lots of fun and enjoyment as well as sharing of experiences and practical skills. I'm proud of the part our Valuing Older People programme is playing in improving life for older people in the city."

The money coming to the city for the Manchester Generations Together initiative is part of £5.5 million from a number of Government departments being put into work to promote intergenerational volunteering and encourage meaningful interaction between the generations.

There were 132 bids from local authorities working in partnership with voluntary groups and charities and Manchester's bid was one of 12 that were successful.

The idea is for successful bidders to pilot ideas that could be used more widely across the country to improve relationships between the generations.

Five of the Manchester projects will be run through Manchester City Council, six through the voluntary sector and two by academic bodies.

Manchester's bid was based on the four main themes of Shared Spaces, Health and Well-Being, Shared Skills and Learning, and Families.

The 13 successful projects in Manchester are:

• ALL FM community radio project in Levenshulme will build on past projects, which challenged the negative perceptions that different generation have of each other. They will target multi-cultural neighbourhoods to identify older and younger volunteers to learn all aspects of broadcasting. Together they will develop intergenerational radio broadcasts that challenge the perceptions of their listeners. Involving Manchester universities in a number of projects will also help to foster better relationships between older residents and the local student population.
• Food Futures cookery classes city-wide will involve young people not in employment, education or training and isolated older people producing healthy meals together.
•  Manchester City Council Youth Service's Intergenerational Volunteers in Schools will develop a sustainable schools volunteering programme, involving grandparent and parents in skill sharing and learning in schools.
• Manchester School of Architecture, architectures of intergenerational engagement will raise awareness of the design implications of shared spaces
• Home Improvement Agencies' maintenance skills exchange will involve DIY skills taster days, DIY training and a makeover of a community building by an intergenerational team.
• Manchester Adult Education Service Adult Education Intergenerational Buddy Exchange will use Adult Learner volunteers to help vulnerable families by offering support to young mothers and learning support to children and young people.
• Generation Games will involve extended families in games and fun interactive activities to facilitate better communication between family members. It will help them to develop mechanisms that will boost families' capacity to support their children whilst supporting the adults to become further engaged in volunteering, learning or employment.
• The partnership project between Community Service Volunteers (CSV) and the Powerhouse Library, 'Young and Older Voices' focuses on Moss Side, one of the most culturally diverse areas in the city. The project will develop more 'hands on' intergenerational volunteering opportunities that will see older and younger people becoming active citizens and advocates for social change.
• The Multicultural cookbook & Community Allotment and Inspired Sisters projects will provide opportunities for children and young people to learn about food growing and sustainable living, develop cooking skills and experience preparing and sharing food from other cultures. All participants will also benefit from the physical activity on allotments.
• The Roby Mental Health Project aims to equip groups of older and younger people with advocacy and advice-giving skills as a tool to address mental health issues within their communities.
• Common Ground involves a Big Brother-style café conversation, which will tease out attitudes towards people from different generations. Participants will then work together on shared tasks and the process will be recorded through video diaries to monitor and record changing attitudes as bridges are built.