Adding life to years
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Summary

The Working Group on Education and Youth Services under the Social Services Committee of the Tuen Mun District Council (the “TMDC”) worked together with the The Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong (Jockey Club Tuen Mun Children & Youth Integration Services Centre) to organise the “Guided Tour for the Youth and the Elderly” (the “Programme”) in 2021-2022.

The content of the mentioned activity covered three domains of an age-friendly city, namely ‘Social Participation’, ‘Respect and Social Inclusion’ and ‘Communication and Information’.

The Programme aimed at promoting intergenerational understanding between the youth and older adults. Young and older participants took turns to be either the tour guides or participants, bringing different and unique experiences from their respective cultures. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, face-to-face tours were changed to online tours. Nevertheless, an overwhelming response was received and the number of beneficiaries has reached over 500.

Key facts

Main target group: Both younger and older people (i.e. intergenerational)

Sector(s): Information and communication

Desired outcome for older people:
Build and maintain relationships

Other issues the Age-friendly practice aims to address:
  • Intergenerational activities
  • Inclusion
  • Participation

Contact details

Name:

Email address: tmdcadm@tmdc.had.gov.hk

Age-friendly practice in detail (click to expand):

Engaging the wider community

Project lead: Civil Society Organisation

Others involved in the project:
  • Local authorities

How collaboration worked: The Programme was co-organised by TMDC and a local NGO. TMDC mainly set up the theme, offered advice and provided funding, while the NGO prepared the proposal, executed the action plan and evaluated the effectiveness.

Older people’s involvement: Older people were involved in the age-friendly practice at multiple or all stages

Details on older people’s involvement: Older people were trained as tour guides to introduce their culture and experieces to the participating teenagers. The role was also reversed to ensure older adults could participated in the tours guided by the teenagers who were then able to share their experiences as well.

Moving forward

Has the impact of this age-friendly practice been analysed: No

Do you plan to evaluate your age-friendly practice? Yes

Feedback:
Through exchange of roles, both young and old participants had better understandings towards each other and the gap between them was narrowed.

Expansion plans:
Although the Programme has ended, TMDC will continue to cooperate with different parties to promote age-friendliness in the society.

Looking back

Reflections:
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, face-to-face tours were changed to online tours. Although participants actively took part in the Programme, their interactions were slightly below expectation. TMDC will make reference to the above experience for future planning.

Challenges:
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic largely affected the face-to-face activities and the planned routes. In order to carry out the Programme as scheduled, an online platform was used to conduct the virtual tours.