IES Pérez Galdós Receives National Mention for Intergenerational Project 'Vidas Cruzadas'

The educational center in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is honored for connecting students and seniors through memory and theater.

Generic image of students and elderly people participating in an intergenerational workshop.
IA

Generic image of students and elderly people participating in an intergenerational workshop.

The IES Pérez Galdós in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has received an honorable mention in the National Education Awards for its intergenerational project Vidas Cruzadas, which connects students with seniors from the El Pino Sociosanitary Center.

The initiative, which fosters learning through intergenerational dialogue, memory, and performing arts, was recognized in the Promotion of Essential Learning category. The project, running for five years under the coordination of professor Elia Padrón Quintero, involves students from the first year of Performing Arts and Curricular Diversification Baccalaureate.
Through 'living libraries,' students engage with the life stories of the sociosanitary center's users. These testimonies form the basis for research, writing, and scenic creation, culminating in theatrical performances inspired by real events.
The jury highlighted the project's ability to transform artistic education into a tool for social change, promoting communicative, creative, and emotional skills, as well as values such as empathy and solidarity. The collaboration between the educational and sociosanitary sectors strengthens intergenerational bonds and preserves collective memory.
To conclude this academic year's work, the project will present the play La esperanza me mantiene, inspired by the poetry collection of Pedro García Cabrera, on June 16 in the auditorium of the El Pino Sociosanitary Center, with performances at 11:30 AM and 6:00 PM.
This national distinction underscores the IES Pérez Galdós's commitment to pedagogical innovation and social engagement through performing arts.