In our latest Village In The City podcast recording Mark McKergow will be talking to Bella Kerr from the Generations Working Together. Bella is Intergenerational Development Officer She is a very enthusiastic proponent not only of getting generations working together but of making that work high-quality and mutually useful. We also hear from Bella's colleagues Diana Knox and Loreen Pardoe.

This event took place during Global Intergenerational Week (24-30 April 2023) so it's a great chance to be tuning in to the possibilities offered by this kind of programme.

Links discussed during the podcast:

Generations Working Together https://generationsworkingtogether.org

Bookbug https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/bookbug

Global Intergenerational Week https://generationsworkingtogether.org/global-intergenerational-week

Short online training https://generationsworkingtogether.org/training/online-training

Play And Storytelling https://www.playscotland.org/resources/play-and-storytelling-connecting-generations-the-intergenerational-way/

Summer Of Play https://www.summerofplay.co.uk/

Bella Kerr is Intergenerational Development Officer with Generations Working Together (GWT). She works with organisations across GWT Scottish Networks as well as globally connecting and facilitating intergenerational work to connect people, locally, nationally and globally. The work connects people from different generations, assisting and supporting them to form intentional intergenerational relationships. The work also looks at Ageism and Stereotypes (between young and older people), Research, keeping up to date with new ideas and Intergenerational Housing Places and Spaces, looking at and exploring the use of community space and how we can connect across generations to interact in our local communities. GWT is FREE to join for anyone living in Scotland and membership offers information and resources and training on intergenerational work and the difference that it can make when bringing young and older people together.

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We're talking to Susan High and Hannah Gray from Strathcarron Hospice near Falkirk in Scotland. Susan and Hannah have played a key role in moving the hospice from a 'community engagement' focus (a good thing in itself) to a 'community development' focus (even better). This work over the past 2-3 years has had eye-opening results and useful outcomes for their work both as clinicians and in the community.

This journey is described in Cormac Russell's paper Understanding ground-up community development from a practice perspective published in the open access journal Lifestyle Medicine. It's free to download and very well worth a read! VITC founder Mark McKergow summarises the paper and points to come of the challenges to come in his blog here.

On the call we talk about a 'three lane model' for community development. Lane 1: things the community can do for themselves, and the best way to support is to get out of the way. Lane 2: Things the community can do for themselves with a little help from outside. Lane 3: things the community needs outside help to do, and the best way to support is to keep focus on what the community wants, not what the experts think they 'should' want.

Hannah also mentions the Denny Poppies project - find out more here.

You can join Village In The City, access our free online community, get our handbook, blogs, resources and frameworks at http://villageinthecity.net.

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Join Mark McKergow and international ABCD guru Cormac Russell as they discuss Cormac's new book The Connected Community (with John McKnight). They discuss why connecting the community is so important, the critical role of discovering what's there already, and how to encourage neighbours to enhance their communities. Cormac reveals his 'tapestry weaving' metaphor for community development, which isn't in the book! We have questions from the USA, Ghana and Ireland about the role of local government, how to get involved in ABCD in an international setting, and thoughts on violence reduction (or is it?) with lessons from the USA and Scotland.

Links mentioned during the call:

Info and buy the book at https://theconnected.community/

Wellspring Foundation’s work in Rwanda: https://www.nurturedevelopment.org/blog/rwanda-stories-community-action/ and https://thewellspringfoundation.org/stories/abcd/

Robert Sampson https://scholar.harvard.edu/sampson/publications/when-disaster-strikes-its-survival-sociable (re community safety)

The Blueprint for Peace https://city.milwaukee.gov/414Life/About

Lots more resources, podcasts, online connection for community builders and more at http://villageinthecity.net .

About the book:

Find out how to uncover the hidden talents, assets, and abilities in your neighborhood and bring them together to create a vibrant and joyful community. It takes a village!

We may be living longer, but people are more socially isolated than ever before. As a result, we are hindered both mentally and physically, and many of us are looking for something concrete we can do to address problems like poverty, racism, and climate change. What if solutions could be found on your very doorstep or just two door knocks away?

Cormac Russell is a veteran practitioner of asset-based community development (ABCD), which focuses on uncovering and leveraging the hidden resources, skills, and experience in our neighborhoods. He and John McKnight, the cooriginator of ABCD, show how anyone can discover this untapped potential and connect with his or her neighbors to create healthier, safer, greener, more prosperous, and welcoming communities. They offer a wealth of illustrative examples from around the world that will inspire you to explore your own community and discover its hidden treasures.

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