TORRES VEDRAS: In the heart of my childhood

The municipality of Torres Vedras is located in the Oeste region of Portugal and is made up of 13 rural communities with a total of 79,465 inhabitants. Its main economic activity is the agro-industrial sector, being one of the main suppliers of horticultural products to the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. Population distribution by age groups underlines the progressive ageing of the population, with 19.6% of people aged over 65, compared to 15.7% aged 0-14.

In recent years, changes in dynamics and lifestyles have led to a progressive separation between the younger and older generations, reducing the spaces and moments for them to share and interact. This has contributed to the creation of prejudices and stereotypes that accentuate this estrangement and widen the existing intergenerational gap.

In order to tackle this situation, the project “In the heart of my childhood” was initiated in 2014 by the Torres Vedras City Council. It aims to generate meeting spaces from which children, young people and senior citizens from rural areas of the municipality can embark on a process of mutual knowledge and exchange, through activities that link memory, life and art.

With the collaboration of writers, senior citizens transform their memories into small informal novels or memory books, in a process that enables them to recover experiences, contextualise them and reflect on their lives in retrospect. Another line of action encourages encounters in the classroom between senior citizens and young art students. On the basis of these meetings, the young people create their works, which they capture in their own artist’s book, with the help of the teaching staff and the collaboration of invited artists. Reading and choral singing workshops are also held with primary school pupils in which the repertoire is based upon the children’s songs that the older generation sang during their childhood, and the texts collected in their memory books. Further, the project promotes the public presentation of the artistic works produced in festivals and exhibitions, with the aim of showcasing the value of the process and sharing the lessons learnt with the community.

Since 2014, the project has directly involved 472 participants, including children, young people and senior citizens. Indirectly, it has involved over 1,000 people.

From a qualitative point of view, the use of art (in its different forms of expression: literature, visual arts, music, etc.) makes it possible to create strong emotional, cognitive and emotional links among people of different ages, socioeconomic and educational levels. Thus, for the participating senior citizens, the project helps to give meaning to their own experiences and to share them with the whole community. Further, listening to the songs from their childhood, sung by the children of today, and seeing their life stories re-interpreted in an artistic manner in the works created by the students, allows them to feel recognised and to connect from an emotional dimension, fostering their self-esteem.

Complementarily, working with the living memory of the community, through interaction with senior citizens, contributes to a greater understanding of local history and strengthens young people’s sense of belonging. The project offers them an opportunity to find out what life was like in their territory in the past, establishing a direct link with their ancestors and recognising their contribution to the common good. The initiative is also a space from which to reflect on the fragilities of the different stages of life, accepting that all people are vulnerable and in need of care at some point in their lives, and therefore appealing to intergenerational solidarity as a way to build inclusive communities.

Presented by: Torres Vedras City Council. Factory of stories
Contact: Ms. Maria João Fernandes
e-mail: fabricadashistorias@cm-tvedras.pt

More information at the IAEC Bank of Experiences.