A major new project to challenge negative stereotypes about young and older people has been launched in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.

The Everyone’s Future project, which is being run by youth organisationVibe Experience and Age Concern Cardiff and The Vale, will tackle age discrimination and encourage people of all ages to form closer relationships.

Over the next two years, Vibe Experience and Age Concern will go into schools, youth centres, youth groups, older people’s forums and charity groups, running workshops designed to make people think differently about age discrimination at both ends of the spectrum.

It is hoped that by 2014 they will have reached 2,512 young people and 1,500 older people through the project.

To kick-start the initiative, Vibe has made a number of short films exploring how the young and the elderly think they are perceived – and what they think about each other.

Youth worker Louise David, an age equality worker with Everyone’s Future, said: “ We’ve started off by looking at the general public’s views of younger and older people, and also making a fictional film looking at young people and old people trying to find employment. They’re designed to be a catalyst for discussion, to get people talking about taking responsibility for how you’re perceived, and what we can do to combat the stereotypes that are around.”

“Age Concern is also going into older people’s groups to try and reduce the fear factor some people feel when they think about young people, and work on the message that there’s a difference between stereotyping and actual danger.”

“We also have a set of four champions – including young people involved in politics, and an 80-year-old lady who is a regular skydiver  – to show that age doesn’t have to limit who you are or what you do.”

The next step for the project is to set up a working group, made up of project staff and anyone who would like to get involved from secondary school age and up.

The group will shape where the project should go next, help at events and spread the word about Everyone’s Future.

Its first meeting will be held on November 29 at Area 41, Holton Road, Barry at 4pm. Anyone interested should Louise David, age equality worker, via email louise@vibeexperience.com or call 01446 700622.

Article from Your Cardiff