Northern Beaches Council is seeking older adults who live locally to join an intergenerational program designed to foster meaningful connections between old and young.

We’re partnering with The George Institute for Global Health at UNSW to launch the program which aims to enhance wellbeing through the exchange of knowledge, skills and experience across generations.

Program details

We’re seeking 10 to 12 older adults from the local community to take part.

The program is expected to run for 8 to 10 consecutive weeks, with one-hour sessions each week. Participants will travel to a Northern Beaches Council run pre-school at the following locations:

  • Brookvale Children's Centre
  • Dee Why Children's Centre
  • Narrabeen Children's Centre
  • The Roundhouse Children's Centre
  • Manly Community Pre-school 

Old and young will be brought together through structured activities to promote meaningful engagement, including: 

  • thinking games
  • songs
  • craft
  • team activities
  • dancing. 

Each week’s activities will be based on a different theme, such as animals, gardening or construction.

Benefits of the opportunity

As part of their INTEGRITY trial, The George Institute aims to see if intergenerational programs improve older adults’ health and preschoolers’ developmental skills.

The intergenerational program will give children aged 3 to 4 a unique opportunity to connect with older generations, gaining valuable insights and learning from their experiences.

Older participants aged 65+ may experience enhanced dignity, a sense of purpose and improve their social outcomes. These connections can encourage older individuals to maintain their independence and remain in their homes longer.

The program has been developed with early childhood educators, child psychologists and experts in intergenerational activities. Sessions will be led by a qualified early childhood educator with the support of a researcher and a preschool educator.

Learn more

To get an idea of what the intergenerational program might look like, view this video from one of The George Institute’s pilot sites.  

To register, complete the expression of interest form. Closes Thursday 30 January.

For more information email integrity-study@georgeinstitute.org.au, call 8052 4365 or 8052 4337.