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Together Old and Young – TOY: young children and older adults learning together

The TOY project was initiated and is promoted by International Child Development Initiatives - ICDI.

The purpose of the TOY Programme is to promote intergenerational learning and create new possibilities for senior citizens and young children to learn together and benefit from each others’ company.  We believe that this is more important than ever before across the world. People are living longer but older adults and young children are having less and less contact with each other. Parents and grandchildren are migrating to cities and countries far away from grandparents.  >> read more

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Latest TOY project publications

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TOY for Inclusion

TOY for Inclusion: Community Based Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) for Roma Children

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TOY online course

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A Glimpse into Norwegian Intergenerational Practices

Livsglede for Eldre or Life Joy for the Elderly,  began as a volunteer initiative in Norway in 2005 to bring joy to older adults in their own community. It has since become a human rights-based national certification system for nursing homes. Read on to find out more about its intergenerational work.

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The Immeasurable Gains of Intergenerational Learning

Working closely with families and communities is an important part of early childhood education. Therefore, intergenerational learning would seem to be a natural ‘fit’ for early years services, something that struck Bernie Pentony, an early year’s educator in Ireland.

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