Generations Working Together Intergenerational Stories Campaign

Over the last few months, Generations Working Together ran a social media photo campaign for Grandparent’s Day and International Day of Older Person’s. We shared these through two weeks in October and have collected a variety of photos and stories.

Both Grandparent’s Day and International Day of Older Person’s took place in October and highlighted the importance of older people in our lives. At Generations Working Together we chose to highlight grandparents, as they are often the people who help us, inspire us and have fascinating stories.

We discussed our own grandparent stories and wondered if others had them too. The stories can be about a relationship with a grandparent or a memory of a grandparent. We also collected stories from grandparents that inspired us and stories from grandparent’s perspectives.

The aim of this project was not only to challenge stereotypes about older people, but also to highlight how vital grandparents are to our lives and how they can contribute to the formation of young people. We also wanted to highlight the intergenerational nature of grandparent’s roles and the impact they have on our society.

The idea was to share photos we collected in October and to encourage others to start grandparent day events and conversations too. By sharing the request on social media, with our members and local libraries we were able to collect photos and stories. Some of these included photos of grandparents from the 30s, handwritten notes and stories from Eastern Europe. While some did not fit within the project we learnt about other intergenerational events, grandparent’s days at schools and about grandparents across the world.

Below are just some of the photos we collected from the project which inspired us. Please contact Kate if you would like to find out more about the campaign. Many thanks to all who have responded to our call for photos/stories and sent materials in and please keep the conversation about grandparents going as we would love to hear more intergenerational stories from you.