Community groups and schools that work with older people in Norfolk are being urged to a enter a new competition with a £5,000 prize fund.

A range of charities and voluntary groups will get together next week to challenge the stigma surrounding getting older at the Norfolk Celebrates Age event in Norwich.

Today, officials behind the project are launching a competition to celebrate the best initiatives that bring schoolchildren and older people together to enrich the lives of our elderly population.

A £5,000 prize fund has been put up by the East of England Co-Op and organisers are particularly keen to hear about projects that benefit people with dementia.

Willie Cruickshank, of the Norfolk Celebrates Age judging panel, said: 'We really want people to use their imagination when coming up with novel ideas for doing fun and rewarding activities that involve people of all ages coming together; the scope of the competition is deliberately broad.'

'From traditional activities like gardening, baking, knitting and performing to more contemporary ones like digital photography and computing, the list of possible intergenerational project ideas is endless, there is something out there to suit absolutely everyone.

More details will be available regarding the competition at the Norfolk Celebrates Age event, which will be held at the Forum between Monday, September 29 and Thursday, October 2. The free four day event will be launched by broadcaster Carol Bundock on September 29.

• Registration will open for the competition on October 2 and will run until next April. Visit http://norfolkcelebratesage.wordpress.com

• For more, see the 12 page Norfolk Celebrates Age supplement in today's paper.

Do you organise an intergenerational project? Email adam.gretton@archant.co.uk