Community Time Machine Website is Launched!
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01 Oct Community Time Machine Website is Launched!

Posted at 09:00h in News by

Co. Wicklow is the first group to display their brilliant community work on the Time Machine website.

To celebrate the UN Day of Older Persons, we here at Neighbourhood Network are delighted to announce the launch of our Community Time Machine exhibition website! The site showcases the incredible intergenerational stories and creativity of Co. Wicklow’s communities.

The Community Time Machine initiative is an age-friendly cross-generational time capsule project designed to connect young people with their older neighbours through a series of facilitated interviews, art projects and photography.

Throughout the Winter and Spring of 2021, groups of teenagers and seniors from Arklow, Bray, Wicklow Town, Rathnew and Newtownmountkennedy piloted this exciting creative project. The work of these participants including interviews and creative responses which paint a picture of Wicklow’s community spirit, past and present, can now be viewed in our digital archive at timemachine.neighbourhoodnetwork.ie/co-wicklow/.

 

Some of the glowing faces behind the Wicklow Time Machine.

 

This initiative which has been supported by Wicklow County Council, Creative Ireland and Healthy Ireland has offered communities a chance to connect in a safe, supportive and creative way during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It has been a delight to see this project evolve – the connections strengthened between generations with the wonderful stories being told. I am also grateful to the project for giving me another way of offering senior members of a community a means to show their significance in society.”

said Louise Curran, one of our fantastic Community Organiser based in Rathnew.

 

The young people that participated in the Time Machine, photographed by their organiser Susie in Bray.

The hard work that went  into the Wicklow Time Machine project has helped us to bring the project to Co.Meath, Co. Monaghan and Co. Westmeath. We’re so excited to bring the project to 7 further counties this autumn with the support of Creative Ireland, Age Friendly Ireland and the Department of Rural and Community Development.

We’ve learnt so much from our incredible Wicklow participants. Like Jenny Bolger, a senior who took part in the Bray Time Machine.

“We have gone through a pandemic, something no one saw coming. The community pulled through this, so whatever difficulties you are facing can be overcome. Things happen. People help.”

 

In advance of launching the new campaign, we’ve received some great words of support;

‘The Creative Ireland Programme is proud to support the work of Neighbourhood Network in developing this project that empowers communities, offers support and friendship to our older people and turns residents into citizen researchers with a creative way”

Catherine Martin, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media

‘This project helps to connect generations in a safe environment. We have seen the importance of community engagement over the past 18 months particularly in tackling social isolation. As we recover and reopen from COVID19, initiatives like the Community Time Machine encourage social inclusion across generations, bringing communities closer together and supporting well-being for all”.

Joe O’Brien, Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development with special responsibility for Community Development and Charities

“Age Friendly Ireland are delighted to collaborate with our colleagues in Department of Rural & Community Development, Creative Ireland and Neighbourhood Network to deliver this wonderful project across a number of participating local authority led age friendly programme areas with our Older Peoples Councils.  Such initiatives are enabling us to realise the vision of an Age Friendly Ireland as set out in this Government’s Programme for Government | Our Shared Future” 

Catherine McGuigan, Chief Officer of Age Friendly Ireland

Visit timemachine.neighbourhoodnetwork.ie/ to view this inspiring project.

 

Press:

Press release for the launch of the National Community Time Machine [pdf]