A University of New Brunswick PhD student is off to Sri Lanka as she continues her research on developing and implementing intergenerational cultural programs.
Stephany Peterson of Saint John will spend just over three months in the South Asian country as a visiting research scholar at the University of Colombo.
Peterson says the goal of her research is to find ways to connect elders and youth, so they can be a mutual resource to one another.
As part of her work, she’ll be using a book written by Sri Lankans called Keerthihan’s Kite.
“The book being about a boy and his grandfather and the national pastime of kite flying,” says Peterson, who wants to use the book to encourage literacy and trilingualism among elders and youth.
Peterson says the book is written and translated into the country’s three official languages — English, Sinhala and Tamil.
“I’ll be also purchasing kite supplies so that we can actually see the theme of the book actually become sort of full circle so that we can actually see that those connections between elder and youth will allow for kite building to be the bridge there,” she says.
Peterson’s research is receiving support from several Rotary clubs, including the Rotary Club of Saint John, which says it’s proud to help achieve their shared mandates of literacy.
She hopes to apply the experience when she returns to New Brunswick, where she will research the lived experience of senior financial exploitation.
(Photo: Rod Stears Photography)
