Unit 5: Creative Ageing - Opportunities and Outlook

12.0 Further Engagement

Find out more about the work of Maggie Ellis by:

- Hearing about her project work Dementia Friendly Fife (

12.6 MB) .

- Reading some of her research on a new communication technique which helps people with Dementia.

Intergenerational engagement and activities to support people living with dementia as well as they carers is generating more and more interest and is nowadays considered as an important intervention supporting the wellbeing of all involved. Here we introduce you to three quite different resources that will help you develop your insights into intergenerational activities further.

1. This is a very recent academic publication by Heather Edmond and Fiona Kelly from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, who published their exploration of what ‘intergenerational best practice’ means and the factors that influence it, following their study which gathered the views of 13 stakeholders involved in intergenerational practice and/or dementia policymaking.

Emond H, Kelly F. The context, mechanisms and outcomes of intergenerational programmes involving people living with dementia in Scotland: A realist, qualitative study. (563.0 KB) Dementia. 2025; 24(6):1059-1076. doi:10.1177/14713012251317767

2. The report "Dementia Friendly Communities Third Report" (8.2 MB) , published by the Life Changes Trust, is the third in a series and provides interesting and useful information about twelve dementia friendly communities the trust funded across Scotland between 2016 and 2017, their activities and evidence of the impact of this work. The report also highlights what makes dementia friendly communities work well, and it shares principles that should guide dementia friendly community work.

3. This resource was published by the International Longevity Centre, the UK’s leading authority on the impact of longevity on society. Their mission is to help governments, policymakers, businesses and employers develop and implement solutions to ensure we all live happier, healthier and more fulfilling longer lives. Their report, Dementia In My Family (3.8 MB) , is taking an intergenerational approach to dementia and highlights that dementia is an issue everyone in society needs to be concerned with because Dementia is too prevalent and its toll on our society is too great for it to be the sole concern of those affected by it: it should be a concern for all of society and for all generations.

The purpose of this report is to help promote an intergenerational approach to dementia. It begins by highlighting key facts about dementia, then describes the role that the family plays as well as the impact of dementia on the entire family. Further, it introduces successful initiatives across Europe in which different generations work together to lessen the burden of dementia in their communities. Finally, it proposes ways in which we may support all generations as they cope with dementia within their families.

Brash, Bärbel and Warnecke, Sylvia (2009), ‘Shedding the ego: Drama-based role-play and identity in distance language tuition’. Language Learning Journal, 37(1) pp. 99–109.

Sauer, A. (2014) ‘5 Reasons Why Music Boosts Brain Activity’, Alzheimers.net [Online] https://www.alzheimers.net/why-music-boosts-brain-activity-in-dementia-patients

Scottish Government (2023) New dementia strategy for Scotland: Dementia in Scotland: everyone’s story. [Online]. Available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/new-dementia-strategy-scotland-everyones-story/(Accessed: 18 March 2026).

Find out more about Joan Miro the artist and his works.