From the elderly people who held a paintbrush for the first time in their lives, to the shy girl who found her confidence, the intergenerational project Darba Waħda… had plural positive outcomes Anna Formosa could never have dreamt of. She speaks to Veronica Stivala.

The shy girl who developed confidence thanks to the constant care and attention given to her by the elderly people in the group, or hearing an elderly person say she looks forward to the sessions because the children’s laughter gives her relief from daily health issues. These are just a few of the many heart-warming highlights for Anna Formosa, applied drama practitioner and founder of the successful project Darba Waħda.

The intergenerational project gave two generations the opportunity to meet over a creative platform. Through various creative methods including drama, games and exercises, arts and crafts, storytelling and improvisations, the two generations had the opportunity to relate, share, exchange, learn and create, and most of all have fun together.

The three-year Darba Waħda… culminated with a special edition at the Esplora Interactive Science Centre, last July, which saw 22 participants, young and old, come together for four days, to put on a short play. This involved storytelling, puppet-making, shadow puppet-making and acting. Although we are talking about the end, if you will, of this project, Formosa is already looking at how to continue her project. The project has already developed to suit the strengths and interests of the participants, such as its focus on arts and crafts, as well as storytelling sessions.

The idea for the project came to Formosa while she was living in Oxford in the UK in 2009. “An elderly lady called over just to say hello,” she recalls, adding how later she started to notice many elderly people going about their day on their own. Formosa, who has a Master’s degree in Applied Drama from the University of Exeter, created her first intergenerational project. Once back in Malta, she did the same. Formosa is also a pharmacist and therefore is in frequent contact with many people, especially the elderly, and saw the need for this.

The arts are a key to well-being, as creativity has been proven to provide meaningful creative expressions and connections

“During the workshops of the first project we spent hours talking, laughing and exchanging stories from the past while preparing a devised play and it was those first elderly participants who suggested it would be great if they could share these stories with children.” And so Darba Waħda… was born.

It is impossible to list all the touching stories Anna recalls from this project, but a few more deserve attention, such as the elderly people who held a paintbrush for the first time in their lives, or who did drama, which they had never done before. She also shares an anecdote about a group of children whose attitude towards not only the elderly, but also to the Maltese language changed, thanks to the patience and dedication of the elderly on the project. And one participant managed to get a job through a referral. The list goes on.

The fact that Anna is both a pharmacist and an applied drama practitioner plays an important part in the way she views the project. For instance, says Anna, firstly, children can definitely benefit from spending time with elderly people in positive creative environments as they have a lot to learn from the elderly and they have so much positive energy which benefits the elderly. There have also been various scientific studies and practical cases that prove that participation of the elderly in the arts contributes to better general health, less doctor visits, fewer medication usage and increased engagement in social activities implying lighter load on governments with healthcare provisions.

“The arts are a key to well-being, as creativity has been proven to provide meaningful creative expressions and connections. Both young and older participants stand to benefit from creative projects such as Darba Waħda… thus the positive impacts on health and well-being should not be underestimated,” she comments.

Needless to say, with an ageing population and increasing numbers of older people who are enjoying longer, healthier lives with a lot of potential and the benefit of time to have active roles in their communities, it is important to continue to create platforms for intergenerational exchanges, keeping older people active, challenging stereotypes and beliefs.

The project was originally part of the Valletta 2018 community projects portfolio and Anna recently delivered a paper about its outcome at Valletta 2018’s conference ‘Sharing the Legacy’. This legacy, she says, is about “using creativity to harness the strengths, potentials and achievements of elderly people, and the joy and youthfulness of children to provide a line of communication that transcends the generational divide”.

She stresses how it has been found that building communities takes time but once a community is ignited and becomes passionate about intergenerational projects, it should be allowed to grow and develop and inspire others. “Given the positive impact it has on health and education, such projects should be considered and supported not only by the cultural sector but by the education and health sectors also.”

The future for Darba Waħda… looks bright: It has been endorsed by the National Literacy Agency and will soon start taking place in schools in collaboration with the Active Ageing and Community Care Department through the participation of older adults attending the Active Ageing Centres. Anna notes that there is even more than this and she hopes that she will be a part of many other different levels of intergenerational initiatives which can be developed.