Date of case study: February 2008

Local authority in which project is based: Darlington

Date started: January 2006

End date if not ongoing: December 2007

Type of organisation: Statutory Youth and Community Development services

This partnership project brings young people and older people together to find common ground, break down barriers and explore intergenerational issues across Darlington using a variety of creative mediums. As part of an initial 12 week programme, the group produced a short film based on their discussions and secured separate funding to create a range of resources to support the development of intergenerational work more widely. Members of the group continue to be actively involved by developing and delivering workshops promoting intergenerational work to a variety of local youth, community and school based groups. As a result of the original programme some young people involved in the group have joined their local Community Partnership, participating in local decision making at a strategic level.

The project is a partnership between Darlington Youth Service, Community Development and Growing Older Living in Darlington (GOLD). A community artist from Scruff Productions joined the partnership at a later date to help develop the creative side of the project and Darlington Media Workshop assisted with the film production.

The initial 12 week programme was funded by the three partner agencies at a total cost of £500. Continuation funding was secured through Connect Youth’s Group Work Initiatives (€7,500).

The project was supported on a part-time basis by a participation worker from Darlington Youth Service, two members of the Darlington Community Development Team and a GOLD link worker.

Ten young people aged 14 to 16 took part in the project, with an equal split of male and female participants. All young people were of White UK origin. During the second stage of the project, a young woman with sight impairment joined and became one of the key workshop facilitators. Four older members (three women and one man) were involved.

The idea stemmed from a meeting of the Community Partnership Steering group which looked at ways of involving more young people. There was also an ongoing issue of young people often being targeted and blamed by older residents for anti-social behaviour in the area and, likewise, negative attitudes from young people towards older residents. The focus therefore changed to look at ways to break down these barriers and developing awareness of issues affecting both younger and older members of the community. Representatives from the Youth Assembly, Community Development and GOLD’s 50 plus forum were brought together to explore how to take this forward, and an idea of an inter-generational project emerged from these discussions.

Older people were recruited through their existing links with GOLD and local partnerships in the town. Young people were recruited through youth groups and the Darlington Youth Assembly. Promotional material was also displayed in youth centres and within older people’s services. Participants were asked to commit to an initial 12 week programme, with one meeting per week (4.30-6.30 pm).

The project began with a 12 week programme of structured and unstructured group work activities. The initial sessions, facilitated by workers, were used to bring the two groups together in discussions to challenge negative stereotypes and decide how to take the project forward. The initial sessions included training designed to support a business approach to the project, covering area such as project management, budgeting etc. A community artist was invited to lead later sessions to help participants take forward ideas for the creative part of the project. They went on to create a resource pack for use by groups undertaking intergenerational activities including templates for agendas, promotional flyers/posters, event evaluation, ideas for workshop activities and risk assessment. The group also took part in the production of a short film of their discussions and designed their own logo as part of the resource pack.

The final session was used to evaluate the project and start developing ideas for an inter-generational network in Darlington for those working with older and younger members of the community.

Following the 12 week programme additional funding was secured to enable members of the group to develop and deliver workshops across Darlington to a variety of local youth, community and school groups.

Participants were encouraged to take an active role in managing the project. The programme itself evolved in discussion with participants with the intention of using the structure as a blue print for future projects. The idea of delivering workshops and presentations to share practice and promote intergenerational activities came from group members. They subsequently helped source additional funding opportunities to develop the second phase.

The venue for the project was chosen because of its central location and facilities, including a creative space and social area designed for all ages. Transport was available so members of the group could get to and from the workshops safely and encourage maximum attendance. Some GOLD members received phone calls to remind them about meetings.

Main contributions made to outcomes as follows:

Making a Positive Contribution: through opportunities to engage in decision making and voluntary action in the community.

Enjoy & Achieve: young people designed and developed a piece of work and played a major part in its delivery. The project also provided opportunities for social interaction with older members of the community and developing new friendships with peers.

Staying Safe: the project facilitated discussion on community safety and respect from the perspectives of different generations.

Young people have gained a range of skills to help them take forward the project. These include group work, project management, budget skills, presentation skills, workshop design and creative skills.

As a result of the project, two young people have joined their local partnerships where they are now extending their knowledge of local issues and gaining an insight into decision making processes within the council.

The young people received accreditation through the Duke of Edinburgh Award or Millennium Volunteers. They were nominated for Darlington Youth Service’s Vibe Awards, which celebrate young people’s contributions to the community and their personal achievements.

The project has helped both generations engage with each other on equal terms, breaking down barriers and challenging negative stereotypes, and highlighting similarilities – including discrimination – in their experiences.

When delivering workshops the older and younger people from the project represent themselves with a coherent and united voice which, in itself, helped demonstrate the impact of inter-generational work. The DVD has been seen in different arenas and has helped spark debate wherever it has been shown. It has given community and youth groups a platform to start breaking down barriers and intolerance and start building relationships and respect.

Evaluation took place at the middle and end of the project, including contributions from participants. Staff from Scruff Productions also evaluated the planning, development and delivery of the project.

A summary report has been produced for Connect Youth (which funded the second stage).

• Support from professional artists gave the finished DVD a polished look and provided a valuable record of the work to share more widely.
• The involvement of group members in designing and delivering the workshops meant the content was well received and had greater impact.
  Good communication and relationships between partners and their ability to provide professional support to the respective groups was central to achieving the project’s objectives and its overall success.
• Flexibility within the project was important in its development into phase two. Investing extra time and effort enabled it to achieve a greater profile and lasting impact.

• Problems identifying and securing continuation funding meant a six month delay between the end of stage one and the beginning of stage two. This posed problems in terms of keeping the original group members on board and sustaining the momentum of the project.
• Overcoming the initial resistance of older members in particular to taking part in this kind of project – this led to some inconsistencies with membership at the beginning.
• Reassuring group members of the value of the work – some felt that their efforts would not make a difference or influence change. But in turn, this made others more determined to continue into the second phase and deliver workshops as widely as possible.

Community safety, elected members, community partnerships, youth groups, private business, members of the public and young people, Connexions, Groundwork YMCA, schools and colleges in Darlington, and a range of voluntary and statutory sector partners.

The community partnerships recognise the grassroots need to develop intergenerational work as a way of building cohesion within communities that are currently struggling to work together. Although they invite young people to attend, this is rarely taken up. The project therefore offered an opportunity to build relationships between young people and older people in a context equally unfamiliar to both groups. Youth workers and community development workers were able to facilitate this through their insight into the problems that both groups faced and how it they affected the community. Likewise, GOLD staff have a background of working with and supporting older members of the community and are able to build on existing relationships with their representatives.

The project has encouraged differing groups to work together to address issues that affect communities, building on existing partnership work.

• It was delivered in partnership with two other organisations, but led by young people
• It opened a number of doors to develop long term projects as a result of the workshops for the local community and youth groups.
• It addressed common issues affecting the community and helped encourage wider discussion in workshops
• The DVD can be used with any age group

Sharing practice is a key part of the project’s objectives. The DVD and resource pack is available to borrow from all Darlington libraries. Resources are also available for downloading from the project’s website. To date group members have delivered 11 presentations to schools, youth groups and community partnerships in Darlington.

A Children & Young People’s Charter is currently being developed for Darlington as a result of the project

Distribution of the resource packs and workshop presentations is ongoing. Other follow up activities include plans for a project to explore the musical heritage in Darlington from the 1950s to the present day, and developing an inter-generational network involving Community Partnerships, schools and voluntary sector agencies.

Gary Arnold, Darlington Youth Service, Central house, Gladstone Street, Darlington. DL3 6JX.  Tel: 01325 346452.  Website: http://www.darlington.gov.uk/Living/intergen.htm