Movember partners with Masters of Digital Media alumna to help change the face of men’s mental health

Masters of Digital Media (MDM) alumna Alexandra Pittiglio and Toronto-based digital design Knot Lab (external link, opens in new window)  co-founder Frank Petrisano were awarded funding as part of Movember’s Social Connections Challenge (SCC) for their project Hello Jack, one of 11 winning projects.

Hello Jack is a mobile/web-based application aimed at fostering intergenerational relationships through mentorship. The project will connect younger, knowledge-seeking individuals with older, experienced individuals looking to share their knowledge. With a focus on tactile skill-building, the duo is helping to flip the narrative on what older generations can offer.

Whether it's a retired carpenter able to teach the basics of furniture-making to a keen hobbyist, a European immigrant able to teach the homemade wine process to a new DIY-er, or a former teacher with the prize-winning garden teaching a young green thumb their secrets, Hello Jack acts as a means to share knowledge and experience across generations, resulting in meaningful social connections.

The power of sharing intergenerational knowledge 

The idea for Hello Jack started with a question; how can we celebrate the wisdom and experience of our elders? This proposition has been central to Knot Lab’s practice since early 2019, and the advent of the pandemic made the answer more pressing than ever. They saw their idea as part of the solution to combat the adverse effects of pandemic isolation on our mental health, by leveraging the power of shared intergenerational knowledge. 

“We know that lack of social stimulation is connected with physical and mental decline, yet sadly for many people aging can mean social isolation becoming a part of normal life,” says Pittiglio. “At the same time, we see a rise in maker and DIY culture amidst younger people, especially those in highly digitized fields such as tech. These younger generations are craving hands-on, tactile, fulfilling experiences during their personal time, while we have this plethora of knowledge amidst retirees who have perhaps specialized in a trade their whole life, or who have taken on a hobby since retiring. What better teachers and mentors than those who have slowed down their pace of life to enjoy their later years?”

A call for submissions to the Social Connections Challenge by Movember led the design team to imagine the amplified potential for the idea’s growth. Being selected as one of 11 global finalists to be awarded funding gave them the validation and support to make the project a reality. Knot Lab and Movember have entered into a co-development process to create Hello Jack, a partnership that has been invaluable for the growth of the platform.  

“Even bigger than the funding itself were the things that came along with it like the Movember support network and exposure,” asserted Pittiglio.

Moreover, Pittiglio credits her graduate program at The Creative School with helping to build and develop the critical skills needed to launch a successful design studio.

“I wouldn’t have gone into experiential design or mobile app development if it wasn’t for the Masters of Digital Media program”, stated Pittiglio. “The program taught me how to position a product for users and gave me all the tools I needed to get started in that world.”

A product of the pandemic

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it's that social connection is integral to our mental health. With the help of Movember, Hello Jack is connecting younger generations with older ones in a unique and mutually beneficial way. Older generations benefit from new social bonds, and younger generations benefit from gaining practical, real-life tactile skills and knowledge.

In a time of social distancing, mobile and web-based communication are proving to be a powerful vector for fostering connections amid a global pandemic. Whereas before, younger generations could only reach out to older family members and colleagues, now, they have the opportunity to speak to a myriad of people with a wealth of knowledge and tactile skills from across the country, thanks in part to projects like Hello Jack.

"Certain cultures place huge importance on intergenerational story-telling and knowledge-transfer, as integral for future generations to grow and build on the foundation of older ones,” said Pittiglio. “Perhaps re-establishing the value of our older populations within Western society, where we can easily lose sight of this, is exactly what's needed to bring people of all ages closer together."

Have a skill or piece of knowledge you’ve learned from someone in an older generation? Add it to the collection of anecdotes found on the Hello Jack website here (external link, opens in new window) . 

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