Intergenerational Week: How Closing the Age Gaps Can Benefit Everyone Now
For each generation must find the wisdom of the ages in the form of its own wisdom. ~Erik H. Erikson
Who doesn’t enjoy photos of an elderly grandparent holding their newborn great-grandchild with a look of absolute love and wonderment?
Four generations of a family spanning roughly 75 - 80 years. That’s a lot of history: one person nearing their end, the youngest just beginning, and those in the middle trying to make sense of the world.
At first glance, it seems they have nothing in common based on where they are on the journey. Their age difference means they’ve lived through various life stages at highly diverse periods of time. My great-grandma emigrated from Germany to the United States. She traveled here by ship with her young family and began a new life in a strange land. Unable to speak the language and quite impoverished, they worked extremely long hours, doing menial work, and somehow forged an existence against all odds.
Fast forward to my own story. Born and educated in the States to middle-class parents (who were also born here), my adventure has been completely different. And a whole lot easier.
So, it’s no wonder generation gaps exist.
Each of us is impacted by:1
Life cycle/Age effect - where an individual is in the life cycle (childhood, adolescence, young adult, etc.)
Period effect - when events and circumstances of a given period in time impact everyone, regardless of age.
Cohort effect - when differences between generations are the by-products of unique historical circumstances that members of an age cohort experience, particularly at a time when they are forming opinions.
I recall watching the first episodes of Little House on the Prairie2 and thinking how different life for those teenagers must have been (I was thirteen when the show first aired.) At that time, I couldn’t imagine that they were affected by the same things I was going through (i.e., puberty and all its awfulness). They were too busy milking the cows, working the farm, and having to be adults before their time.
As a grownup, I now realize that adolescents from any time period experience the same physical and emotional changes and challenges. And had I continued watching the weekly show, I would’ve seen many important and dramatic life themes explored in this popular TV series.
Intergenerational Week
Today marks the beginning of Intergenerational Week, a celebration I wasn’t previously aware of. It was started by the St. Monica Trust in 2020 as an online campaign to bridge generational divides.
Founded in 1925 by the Wills family, the St. Monica Trust is a non-profit in the United Kingdom, which is based in Bristol. The Trust devotes its time and assistance to the residents of its community.
While this campaign week is taking place only in the United Kingdom, the 40+ organizations behind the campaign intend to make it a global movement. Some of those groups are Ancaster House, University of Strathclyde Glasgow, and Lead Scotland, to name a few.
Aside from promoting friendship and social interaction between the generations, this effort facilitates resources and ideas. Imagine how a respectful exchange of thoughts and feelings could benefit people of all ages! It might just enlighten folks about the other person’s life struggles and successes.
In addition, it breaks down ageism by encouraging the learning of new skills and shared experiences across all age groups without tired stereotypes and discrimination.
This is an initiative I fully support. Too often, we see ‘the other’ as not appreciative of our own struggles and challenges. And we, too, are sometimes guilty of not caring to know about another person’s unique challenges. Whether it’s age, gender, culture, or ethnicity, we owe it to each other to educate ourselves about people and situations different from our own.
I believe it’s possible to bring our own perspectives while understanding another’s views. This back-and-forth of ideas and knowledge is exactly what’s needed to bridge the gaps. But we can only do that together.
There really is so much to learn!
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
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Recently, our Australian national broadcaster did 2 wonderful documentaries to try to bridge the intergenerational gap. The ramifications for the active participants were enormous.
The links are below but I'm not sure if you can open them outside of Oz.
I do hope you have a chance to watch the entire series - it shows that given time and hope, all generations can give much to each other.
https://iview.abc.net.au/show/old-people-s-home-for-4-year-olds
https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/intergenerational-connect-teenagers-and-older-people/101187538