March was host to the GWT International Intergenerational Conference and it was a magical day indeed, though it also seemed to be over in a 'puff of smoke' too. With people gathering from various continents, not just all corners of Scotland and UK, it was indeed full of passion, knowledge and key insights. As always, the tricky thing was choosing workshop and lunchtime talking table. 

Key delights for me were 

• hearing from Matt, Mariano and Anneke - weaving magic as they asked everyone present to contribute to current and future work around the values of intergenerational practice. This has direct links to the 3-nation project to work with people at grassroots level to grow deeper understanding and a reciprocal approach to developing the principles of excellence in intergenerational practice - and East Lothian stands to be one of the first areas in Scotland to be involved! The passion and combined knowledge of these three champions of IG work was exciting to be around. 

• the launch of the new Social Isolation and Loneliness Fund from Scot Gov, but Minister for Equalities and Older People, Christina McKelvie - drawing direct links to Intergenerational Work. 

• lunch with Lois - a true peach of a talking table as we explored ways to creatively but carefully gather good evidence from our projects and work. I've met Lois Peach several times online, so it was lovely to meet in person - and many links were made with exclamations - "OH, it's YOU! I've only seen you on screen."

• the presentations of Excellence Awards. Wow, what fantastic work and if you meet any doubting the value of IG working, please do point them in the direction of these (and past) winners to support your case. Deeply inspiring. Congratulations to all those who were nominated, received Highly Commended and/or won their categories. 

To hear more about the day and view slides from some of the workshop presentations, or enjoy the International Women's Day booklet produced to pay significance to the day of the conference itself, follow this link to GWT. Well done to the team there - what a fantastic day!

Oh my, WHAT a day! Dr Katey Warran, a researcher from University of Edinburgh, led everyone into the day's events with such a wonderful mixture of folks there, from Scottish Ballet and Dancebase for practical taster workshops, researchers, care home managers and project volunteers, some wonderful folks living with dementia and their loved ones / carers and our very own Amy Robinson from ELC Community Arts programme. Indeed Amy and I were signed up for the same workshops at the same time, so we spent a wonderful day together, being deeply inspired. Ron and Karen Coleman, Agnes Houston and Michael Cheung were there from DEEPness and also were being filmed for part of a documentary. Ron spoke about their enthusiasm for the benefits they have found through dance - indeed, overall, the benefits and enjoyment of participating in dance were found to be multiple and widespread, including by those who felt that they were not dance-inclined at all. Converts by the end of the day! 

Ideas for future research were explored in a fast-paced workshop with Katey, and we had the opportunity to also engage our bodies alongside our minds, hearing about programmes such as Scottish Ballet's A Time to Dance through the researcher for the project - and the dance leads for the project. 

Amy and I were absolutely sure at the end, we need MORE of this and the potential for intergenerational approaches were clear. 

Architecture and Design Scotland hosted an online event, highlighting work ongoing which brings children and young people front and centre in thinking about a society in which we can all thrive. Through a particular focus on child poverty, the UNCRC as the basic foundation point for society and a view of places and spaces, clear parallels were made with ageing population and those with disabilities. For all to thrive we need to focus on more than accessibility - we need to focus on inclusivity - so what are all the things required for someone to be able to fully participate in their communities, it's amenities and opportunities. 

Poverty was seen as a barrier for multiple reasons, which a child currently has no way of influencing at all in almost every situation, but a human rights lens helps us all to focus work, ideas and collaborations - including WITH children - to find meaningful ways to make a real difference and so influence both the present and the future for individuals, families, communities and society. Intergenerational working has so much potential to effect real and sustainable change. Various presentations were shared such as bikes through school, Young Scot / travel card and A Place in Childhood. You can find information on all these in the A&DS blog.