Kei te tua te taiapa/Over the Fence campaign
Summary
Kei te tua te taiapa/Over the Fence Campaign
We have seen our community tested over the last couple of years with Covid, multiple weather events and a major cyclone.
During these times the ability of the community for care for members of their community is essential.
Often when we talk about neighbours and emergencies, we talk about or ask the community to look out for its more vulnerable members – usually our older community members.
Language in these kind of situations around older people is usually in the deficit model, i.e. that our older people are vulnerable and need assistance. And of course they do. However, studies have shown that describing older people as “frail” or “vulnerable increased dramatically during covid times and hasn’t really gone away.
The project “Kei te tua te taiapa/Over the Fence” wants to turn this deficit model on its head by celebrating the strengths of the older neighbour instead of emphasising their vulnerability.
Encouraging people to get to know their older neighbours because of the skills, experiences and expertise that the older neighbour may have and how they, the older person can support their neighbours.
A campaign was designed that celebrated individual older people as neighbours and their skills and experience, and how as neighbours they can be found just “over the fence”. The campaign was supported by posters, postcards and social media. People were able to use the postcards as a way to introduce themselves to their neighbour.
Website: https://cdc.govt.nz/your-district/seniors/wairarapa-region-positive-ageing-strategy/
Key facts
Main target group: Both younger and older people (i.e. intergenerational)
Sector(s): Information and communication, Other
Desired outcome for older people:
Build and maintain relationships
- Ageism
- Disasters and emergencies
- Inclusion
- Participation