Mental Health Foundation encourages all generations to connect in United Nations International Year of Youth

The Mental Health Foundation is urging people of all generations to connect with each other and foster appreciation between generations. August 12 signified the beginning of the United Nations International Year of Youth. The theme for the year is ‘dialogue and mutual understanding.’ The aim is to encourage partnership between youth and older generations, as well as across cultures, and also to applaud the positive contribution that youth make to their communities.

In recognition of the year’s theme, the Foundation teamed up with Age Concern’s Manukau branch to run one of their popular texting workshops.  This is an opportunity for youth to share their knowledge around texting and mobile phones with older people. 

“Many older people find communication technologies difficult to grasp. By having an opportunity to sit down with a technologically savvy younger person to explain how to use their mobile phones and, in particular, how to text, can be really helpful in terms of keeping them connected to their friends and family,” explains Judi Clements, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation.

So popular are these workshops that the one being run by Age Concern’s Manukau branch is at capacity.

The Foundation’s youth mental health promotion team is challenging individuals and organisations to offer similar workshops in their region and to work toward making this year’s youth focus a national celebration. 

The volunteers, from as young as 10, have reported feeling a great sense of worth in giving their time to the older generation and they felt like the participants really valued their contribution and the connections that they had made. Likewise the older participants have had many positive reactions from the workshops, ranging from feeling more confident in text language and in utilising communication technologies, to actually feeling safer in their communities as a result of these workshops.

Workshops like these have proven to not only benefit individual’s mental health and wellbeing but also entire communities and research by the New Economics Foundation states that “building reciprocity and mutual exchange – through giving and receiving – is the simplest and most fundamental way of building trust between people and creating positive social relationships and resilient communities.” 

In the build up to International Youth Day on 12 August, the Mental Health Foundation is urging people of all generations to connect with each other and foster appreciation between generations.

August 12 also signifies the beginning of the United Nations International Year of Youth. The theme for the year is ‘dialogue and mutual understanding.’ The aim here is to encourage partnership between youth and older generations, as well as across cultures, and also to applaud the positive contribution that youth make to their communities.

In recognition of the year’s theme, the Foundation will be teaming up with Age Concern’s Manukau branch to run one of their popular texting workshops.  This is an opportunity for youth to share their knowledge around texting and mobile phones with older people. 

“Many older people find communication technologies difficult to grasp. By having an opportunity to sit down with a technologically savvy younger person to explain how to use their mobile phones and, in particular, how to text, can be really helpful in terms of keeping them connected to their friends and family,” explains Judi Clements, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation.

So popular are these workshops that the one being run by Age Concern’s Manukau branch is already at capacity.

The Foundation’s youth mental health promotion team is challenging individuals and organisations to offer similar workshops in their region and to work toward making this year’s youth focus a national celebration. 

The volunteers, from as young as 10, have reported feeling a great sense of worth in giving their time to the older generation and they felt like the participants really valued their contribution and the connections that they had made. 

Likewise the older participants have had many positive reactions from the workshops, ranging from feeling more confident in text language and in utilising communication technologies, to actually feeling safer in their communities as a result of these workshops.

Workshops like these have proven to not only benefit individual’s mental health and wellbeing but also entire communities and research by the New Economics Foundation states that “building reciprocity and mutual exchange – through giving and receiving – is the simplest and most fundamental way of building trust between people and creating positive social relationships and resilient communities.” 

For more information on what the New Economics Foundation says, visit:
www.neweconomics.org/projects/five-ways-well-being