UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Matthew Kaplan, professor of intergenerational programs and aging in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, recently was recognized as the “International Ambassador” at the inaugural Intergenerational Ambassador Awards gala presented by the Macrosad Chair in Intergenerational Studies at the University of Granada, Spain.
Kaplan was cited for “a lifetime dedicated to researching and promoting intergenerational relationships,” according to the Macrosad Chair press release. This award recognizes significant work from individuals, associations, and private and public organizations to advance intergenerational programming and combat ageism.
Kaplan said he was pleased to receive the award while also stressing the collaborative nature of this work with practitioners, community stakeholders, faculty at other universities, and Penn State Extension educators who extend the research of Penn State to counties across Pennsylvania and beyond.
“I’ve been doing intergenerational studies work for 35 years and have had the honor of working with colleagues in a dozen countries on joint projects aimed at developing and evaluating intergenerational strategies that enrich people’s lives and help address vital social and community issues,” Kaplan said.
“I have learned time and again that for this type of work to be effective, one can’t come in as an ‘outsider’ and make things happen,” he explained. “Projects have to be grounded in the needs and priorities of local communities, reflective of local culture and, to the extent possible, framed as collaborative endeavors rooted in deep engagement with local groups, organizations, universities and agencies.”
Deanna Behring, assistant dean in the College of Agricultural Sciences and director of Ag Sciences Global, said she appreciates Kaplan's “years of leadership in this area and his efforts to bring various perspectives from other countries and places to his work on intergenerational issues.” She noted that he “truly works as an ambassador in his field.”
Mariano Sánchez, director of the Macrosad Chair in Intergenerational Studies and dean of faculty in political sciences and sociology at the University of Granada, said the new awards represent a further step in Macrosad’s and the University of Granada’s commitment to knowledge transfer.
“It is not only a matter of disseminating and making visible some outstanding practices and trajectories in the field,” Sánchez said. “With these awards, we try to establish permanent channels of collaboration that allow us all to learn from and with the awarded entities and people.”
The Macrosad Chair in Intergenerational Studies is a partnership between the University of Granada and Macrosad, a cooperative in Andalusia, Spain, dedicated to improving health and well-being across generations. Sánchez, who presented the awards, said he hopes the awards inspire other groups and organizations to “continue making better intergenerational practices and spaces.”
The opportunity to explore intergenerational strategies for addressing challenges posed by rural depopulation trends brought Kaplan to Spain for sabbatical in spring 2023.
“I’ve always felt emotionally saddened driving through a rural area in Pennsylvania and seeing empty store fronts on ‘Main Street,’ evidence of a downturn in economic conditions and opportunity,” Kaplan said. “One of my primary areas of work these days is intergenerational approaches to community development and planning, and the methods I use would fit into the subcategory of intergenerational community visioning and participatory placemaking.”
He added that he and his colleagues also occasionally create new theoretical frameworks, such as when Kaplan, Sánchez, Leng Leng Thang, associate professor at the National University of Singapore, and Jaco Hoffman, professor at the North-West University in South Africa and professorial fellow at the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, co-edited the book, “Intergenerational Contact Zones: Place-based Strategies for Promoting Social Inclusion and Belonging.”
The community planning relevance of the “intergenerational contact zones” conceptual framework has been noted in a recent AARP “Equity by Design” report on “Intergenerational Play Spaces” and in the American Planning Association’s report on “Intergenerational Community Planning.”
Kaplan describes intergenerational studies as a field of inquiry and practice with value for solving real-world problems and improving quality of life across program areas, including health and wellness; environmental education and preservation; support for kinship care families; community development; education and lifelong learning; and arts, culture and recreation.
In Pennsylvania, Kaplan said his work contributes to a range of extension programs and activities, such as the Relatives as Parents Program and One Community Many Generations.
Sánchez said the award also illustrates the international dimension of intergenerational studies, as well as the collaboration between Penn State and the University of Granada, which is soon to celebrate its 500th birthday.
“Penn State opened its doors to me when I decided to spend a year doing research there,” said Sánchez, who was at Penn State in 2012–13. “The award presented to Professor Kaplan is further evidence of a bilateral international collaboration that can bring enormous value both to our institutions and to the intergenerational field.”
The Penn State Intergenerational Program website contains resources, research, articles and other information, such as how to join the Pennsylvania Intergenerational Network, which aims to promote and expand intergenerational work across the state.