Total: 413 good practice(s). Download
Kotoen is a social welfare organization in Tokyo, established in 1962 as a nursing home and later expanded to provide comprehensive care services for older persons, children, and persons with disabilities. It is widely known for its pioneering intergenerational care model, which brings together people of all ages under one roof—combining eldercare, childcare, disability support, and community services to foster mutual support and social inclusion. Through residential care, daycare services, home support, and community outreach initiatives, Kotoen aims to create a “shared living” environment where different generations interact, support one another, and live with dignity. Over the years, it has evolved into a community-based hub that promotes inclusive welfare, preventive care, and innovative approaches to ageing, while serving as an internationally recognized model for intergenerational engagement.
Key beneficiaries are all age groups requiring care, such as older persons, children and persons with disabilities.
The model has strengthened community cohesion and mutual support, creating a “family-like” environment across generations and reducing social isolation. Beyond individual benefits, Kotoen has become an internationally recognized good practice, influencing similar intergenerational care models in Japan and abroad and demonstrating how integrated, community-based services can respond effectively to ageing societies.
Originally established in 1962 as a traditional nursing home, the organization expanded its services over time to include childcare and other forms of social support. In the late 1970s and 1980s, as both demand for eldercare and childcare increased, Kotoen began integrating these services, culminating in the introduction of its pioneering intergenerational model in 1987, which brought older persons and children together within a single facility.
The intergenerational approach makes it a recognized good practice.
The International Learning Programme (ILP) in Singapore, implemented by the National Silver Academy, aims to encourage inergenerational bonding by pairing youth with older persons in group learning settings. The programme offers practical lessons on topics like social media use, health and wellness, music and brain exercises. This programme simultaneously helps older persons to acquire new skills and youth to develop character and moral values.
Singaporean seniors aged 50+ participated alongside youth learners—typically students from primary to tertiary institutions—fostering mutual learning and social bonding.
The programme has engaged over 6,000 seniors and youths since its inception in 2011 up to 2015, enhancing seniors’ digital and creative skills, boosting their social and mental well-being, and nurturing empathy and intergenerational solidarity among young participants.
Launched in April 2011 by C3A under the National Silver Academy, the ILP matches seniors with youth “teachers” in group learning settings at schools and community venues.
By facilitating structured, reciprocal learning between seniors and youths, the ILP strengthens social cohesion, promotes lifelong learning, and reinforces intergenerational respect—offering a scalable model for inclusive community engagement.
The Intergenerational Self-Help Clubs (ISHC) in Hanoi, implemented by HelpAge Viet Nam, aims to support older persons through healthcare, social security and livelihood enhancement - empowering vulnerable community members. Older persons are both volunteers as well as beneficiaries of the initiatives. This initiative focuses on active ageing and inclusive development, with ISHC adopting a community-based, cost-controlled approach to improve the quality of life for older persons and their families, namely homecare services. Activities are structured around eight components, namely income security, medical care, lifelong learning, social care, community support, family care, resource mobilization and protecting rights and interests.
These community clubs benefit older adults, especially women and socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals, alongside the broader community—offering peer support, care, and inclusive activities.
By 2020, the programme significantly enhanced older people’s access to community care, financial services, and social protection. It strengthened local solidarity through microcredit, home care, policy outreach, and community-driven fundraising—demonstrating a sustainable and inclusive model for ageing support.
Developed by HelpAge Vietnam with support from HelpAge Korea and KOICA under project code VIE70, the model was delivered through local self-governed, volunteer-led clubs, supported by simple membership dues and community-generated funding. Clubs operated bottom-up, with intergenerational participation and volunteer support.
ISHCs exemplify locally owned, cost-efficient, and scalable care models, enabling older adults to lead community-led solutions that foster resilience, social inclusion, and intergenerational solidarity.
Through Presidential Decree No PP-405 of 25 November 2024 titled "On measures to involve active elders in the implementation of the ‘From Poverty to Prosperity’ programme”, the Government introduces a nationwide system to leverage the experience, authority, and social standing of respected elders (nuroniylar) to help families overcome poverty and strengthen social wellbeing in mahallas. Through the programme the Government aims to use the knowledge and experience of older persons to support poor families and engage active elders in strengthening healthy lifestyles and community cohesion. Elders are assigned to each household to help families overcome poverty and promote active lifestyles. Older persons involved in these efforts receive a monthly compensation equal to 50% of the minimum wage. Each mahalla receives 10 million soums annually from the Nuroniy Foundation to promote elder sports.
Poor families in Uzbekistan
It is a programme developed using the existing mahalla system. District/City Councils of People’s Deputies will regularly hear reports on implementation challenges identified by elders. The 2025 State Budget allocates 504 billion soums to the Nuroniy Foundation for programme implementation.
The practices considers older persons as agents and not recipients of care. It capitalizes on experience of older persons and respect to them. It also builds on existing social capital and existing structures through the mahallas. It also provides systematic recognition to older persons who provide their expertise through financial compensations. Thus, it also provides income security for older persons and incentives to support the programme.
Elderly community leaders to join poverty reduction efforts in Uzbekistan – News from Uzbekistan – Gazeta
Older persons in the Philippines actively contributed to community resilience before, during and after disasters. Through Older Persons' Associations (OPAs) coordinated by the Coalition of Services of the Elderly (COSE) and the Confederation of Older Persons' Associations of the Philippines (COPAP), older persons participated in disaster preparedness, early warning dissemination, damage and needs assessments, relief distribution, and recovery efforts. Following Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy) in 2009, older people used their knowledge of local communities to identify vulnerable households, support emergency response, and facilitate equitable delivery of assistance, strengthening overall community preparedness and resilience.
All people affected by disasters
Following Typhoon Ketsana in 2009, COPAP members conducted rapid assessments, identified older persons and other vulnerable households requiring assistance, and helped coordinate relief and recovery activities. Their local knowledge enabled more accurate targeting of support and facilitated community cooperation. The approach resulted in faster identification of needs, improved distribution of relief goods, and enhanced participation of older persons in community disaster risk reduction and recovery processes.
The initiative was developed through existing networks of Older Persons' Associations that had been organized and strengthened prior to disasters.
This is a good practice because it shifts the perception of older persons from passive beneficiaries to active agents of resilience. The initiative recognizes and utilizes older people's knowledge, leadership, social networks, and disaster experience to strengthen preparedness and response. It promotes inclusion, community ownership, and intergenerational cooperation while improving the effectiveness of disaster risk reduction measures. The model is low cost, community-based, and scalable, making it relevant for countries facing both increasing disaster risks and population ageing. It also aligns with the principles of inclusive disaster risk reduction by ensuring that older persons participate in decision-making and implementation processes.
A federal legal framework establishing the rights, welfare mechanisms, and protection measures for senior citizens in the Capital Territory. The act provides for welfare councils, protection from neglect and abuse, and measures to support the social, medical, and economic well-being of older persons.
Older persons in the Islamabad Capital Territory
It was developed through legislative processes under the Government of Pakistan, with the Ministry of Human Rights leading the drafting. Implementation relies on coordination with provinces and the establishment of designated bodies and welfare mechanisms under the act.
This is a good practice as it provides a rights-based legal framework, formalising older persons rights ensuring they are addressed outside of just charity -based support. It is sustainable as it embeds responsibilities within government structures rather than short-term projects.
JEED (Japan Organization for Employment of the Elderly, Persons with Disabilities and Job Seekers) runs a comprehensive set of employment support services for older workers, aimed at extending working lives, improving workplace conditions, and helping companies adapt to an aging workforce. JEED provides financial support to employers to help them continue employing older workers, runs public awareness activities to promote age‑friendly workplaces and provides vocational training for reemployment.
Older persons and persons with disabilities seeking to participate in the labour force.
Resulting from the activities of JEED, employment of older persons and persons with disabilities has increased.
JEED emerged from other governmental agencies, adapted to the needs of an ageing society.
JEED is a governmental independent administrative agency, funded by the Government of Japan.
It focuses on employment of vulnerable groups who are often discriminated in the labour market.
Core implementation is a home‑care and social support model for vulnerable older adults, expanded through 15+ charitable programmes: in‑home care for the elderly; post‑stroke rehabilitation; purchasing essential household/medical items; and urgent material assistance. The foundation also delivers community activities (e.g., caregiver training, cultural events) and volunteer programmes targeting silver‑age volunteers to reduce isolation via “Telephone Friend.”
The primary/initial beneficiaries were elderly and needy Jews in Moscow; the organization is explicitly a Regional Public Jewish Charitable Foundation and continues to emphasize the Jewish community (including Holocaust remembrance and cultural programming).
The foundation’s model delivers holistic, sustained outcomes for vulnerable older adults in Moscow: it keeps people safely at home through ongoing home‑care and social support, reduces isolation by engaging “silver‑age” volunteers and maintaining regular contact (e.g., the “Telephone Friend” initiative), and builds family capacity via practical trainings for relatives of people with limited mobility—together strengthening day‑to‑day functioning, safety, and dignity for beneficiaries. At the system level, the organization demonstrates continuity and integration—it communicates with city social‑protection processes, sustains volunteer intakes and community events across the year.
The practice grew from synagogue‑based volunteer aid into a registered, city‑recognized provider. Over time it consolidated home‑based assistance as a priority and added specialized programmes (rehabilitation, equipment purchases, urgent support). The foundation actively recruits and trains volunteers, hosts public events, and maintains coordination with city social services—for example, public notices about independent quality assessments in the social sector and training workshops for relatives of home‑bound clients. Operational and financial sustainability is supported by recurring donations via the SberTogether platform, with published quarterly reports on purchased medical supplies for specific beneficiaries.
It stands out for its longevity and institutionalization: operating continuously since 1991, it has evolved into a structured, multi‑programme charitable foundation with city‑level recognition and a diversified portfolio of services. Its approach is home‑based and needs‑driven, prioritizing in‑home care and targeted purchases of medical and household essentials that directly support daily functioning and dignity for frail older adults. The model also mobilizes volunteers and supports family caregivers, recruiting “silver‑age” volunteers (for example, the “Telephone Friend” initiative) and running practical workshops—such as safe transfer techniques for relatives of people with limited mobility—which strengthen social connectedness and improve care quality. Finally, its transparency and accountability are demonstrated through regular donation reports on SberTogether that specify exactly which medical consumables were purchased and for whom, reinforcing donor trust and programme continuity.
''Kaigo' means nursing or caregiving in Japanese. Kaigo cafe began as a gathering at a café in Tokyo where people working in the care industry could come together to share their experiences and discuss issues and concerns in the field. Since its establishment, it has grown into a large community of care workers in Japan. The community provides spaces for care workers nationwide to connect and offers support for their careers and other concerns through diverse online and offline events.
Individuals working in the care industry, including managers, caregivers, and students.
As of 2025, more than 40,000 care industry workers were involved in this community.
The get-together is held once a month at a café in Tokyo. Local communities also organize events in their own areas. Additionally, they provide activities that go beyond just gathering. These include off-site events and collaborations with schools and government entities. For example, they provide places for those studying in this sector, and they support people who want to start businesses in the care sector by connecting them with business partners.
This network brings together professionals in the care industry to address the concerns and problems they face. Networking benefits not only the workers, but also the industry and the care recipients at large.
Aspirations about life and work as nursing care professionals and the future of Japan :Real talk with millennials shaping the future of nursing care! │ KAI-GO! │ The Asahi Shimbun Digital
Kampung Admirality is a public residenial project in Singapore, implemented by Ministry of Health and Early Childhood Development Agency. The residential project consists of two 11-storey blocks with 104 studio apartments, integrating intergenerational amenities between commercial, leisure and residential spaces. This project was the first to combine childcare, senior centres and community plazas within a single complex, with the aim of preventing social isolation.
Residents of Singapore—especially seniors in Woodlands—benefited from on-site housing, healthcare, social, and community facilities. The co-location integrates services for elderly care, childcare, retail, and communal activities into one accessible complex.
The programme engaged over 200 senior volunteers, hosted 190+ intergenerational activities, fostering inclusion and active ageing. It now serves as a national model for integrated eldercare design.
Kampung Admiralty was developed by Singapore’s Housing & Development Board (HDB) and designed by WOHA from 2013, completed in 2017. Located next to Woodlands MRT on a compact 0.9-hectare site, it uses a vertical “club sandwich” model to stack diverse public functions. Universal design and sustainability were integral, including natural ventilation, rainwater collection, and green roofs. A multi-agency team, including HDB and the People’s Association, oversees integrated programming and daily operations.
It offers an innovative model for ageing-in-place by combining housing, healthcare, and community services in a compact, inclusive, and sustainable vertical village.
