Pre-Conference Activities
Pre-Conference Registration Details:
Already registered for the conference? Please use this form to add pre-conference activities to your registration for Generations United's 2025 Global Intergenerational Conference. Please note: This form is intended for use by registered conference attendees only.
To register for the conference and pre-conferences on the same form, please visit the conference registration webpage.
Pre-Conference Session:
Built to Last! Taking Intergenerational Work from Program to Practice
Wednesday, June 25, 2025, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Cost: $75, Coffee/Tea included
This session is available for registered conference attendees only.
How do you make your community center a hub of intergenerational activity that benefits all ages – making this a way of working that becomes part of the fabric of your organization?
Community centers seek to engage the broader community in their work, and intergenerational programs are a great way to do this, spanning age and many other differences in ways that strengthen community connections, and bring value and meaning to life while combating social isolation and loneliness.
Unfortunately, many organizations find it difficult to sustain intergenerational programming over time. If funding ends or key staff leave, intergenerational programming often withers. United Neighborhood Houses partnered with staff at three unique neighborhood centers to address this dynamic. In a multi-year effort, we successfully explored what it would take to embed intergenerational programming as a core practice that staff across a center and its departments (pre-school, youth, aging, immigrant and job training, etc.) can learn and utilize. This approach shifts intergenerational work from an individual program approach to a long-term strategy used to achieve programmatic goals and meet funding requirements across a center.
During this intensive session, you will explore:
Best Practices for making intergenerational work a core practice embedded across a community center,
How this impacts the mission and values of the organization
The benefits of this approach.
How this approach leads to organizational change, including changes in the roles and responsibilities of staff and the skills they need to succeed, increasing their effectiveness.
Tools and resources developed that an organization and staff use to support this journey.
Join this interactive half-day intensive to explore how this body of knowledge can help your organization develop, sustain and embed intergenerational programming as a core practice within your organization or community center.
Pre-Conference Session:
How Will I Know? Intergenerational Program Research Intensive
Wednesday, June 25, 2025, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Cost: $75, Coffee/Tea included
This session is available for registered conference attendees only.
Looking to develop new skills in intergenerational program research and advance the science of intergenerational practice? This pre-conference intensive will offer resources, tools, and collaborative strategies to understand the impact of intergenerational programs. You will learn how intergenerational research has developed, areas primed for growth, and how you can advance the field. We will share stories of practitioners and scholars leveraging partnerships to understand, communicate, and amplify impact. Attendees will utilize resources shared in the workshop to identify meaningful outcomes to measure and pick tools to represent results.
The program is designed primarily for those building intergenerational research skills and those looking for research partnerships. Join us for the chance to hone your knowledge and get to know others in the field before the conference starts.
Pre-Conference Session:
Grandfamilies/Kinship Symposium
Hosted by Generations United
Wednesday, June 25, 2025, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Cost: $125, Lunch included
This session is available for registered conference attendees only.
Effectively serving kinship families requires knowledgeable staff, cross-system collaboration, and implementing innovative practices. This kinship symposium will highlight exemplary programs and practices across the country, offer opportunities for discussion to explore creative solutions to challenges often faced by kinship families, and help participants understand how to apply their new knowledge and skills to their everyday work. And because we know that most kin are raising children outside of the child welfare system, our information-sharing and conversations will put those families at the center. Join us to learn about inspiring ideas, connect with others, and further develop your skills to support kinship families.
Pre-Conference Site Visit:
Harbor House Intergenerational Life Center
Wednesday, June 25, 2025, 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Cost: $100, Transportation and lunch included
This session is available for registered conference attendees only.
Join us for a visit to Harbor House, co-host of Generations United’s 2025 Global Intergenerational Conference. Harbor House was founded in 1992 to provide meaningful activities to young adults with intellectual disabilities, and in 2023 expanded its mission to provide intergenerational opportunities where children, adults, and seniors of all abilities may interact daily. In 2023 they opened the 36,000-square-feet Intergenerational Life Center--the first of its kind in Kentucky--and in 2025 will open the adjacent Child Enrichment Center serving 105 children of all abilities. Get a firsthand look at the space and hear from the innovators who brought it to life. Transportation (from the Louisville Marriott Downtown) and lunch are provided.