Community Building Through Intergenerational Exchange Programs 2006

Prepared for the National Youth Affairs Research Scheme (NYARS) by Judith MacCallum, David Palmer, Peter Wright, Wendy Cumming-Potvin, Jeremy Northcote, Michelle Brooker, and Cameron Tero.

This report is the property of the National Youth Affairs Research Scheme.

Contents of Report

The report is based on a literature review and the findings of four Australian case studies:

• The Bankstown Oral History Project in the inner western suburbs of Sydney;
• The 'Radio Holiday' Project run by Big hART in rural and remote Tasmania;
• The School Volunteer Program based in Perth; and
• The Yiriman Project based in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

The report concludes that successful intergenerational exchange programs display four key features:

• They provide opportunities for the development of relationships between generations;
• They have access to a range of support mechanisms;
• They provide opportunities for generations to do a range of things together; and
• They take account of program-specific issues, such as gender, culture and language.

Community Building Through Intergenerational Exchange Programs - PDF [945kb]