Generations United Through Dialogue

Amy Lenzo - 06:45pm Jun 19, 2007 PDT

Ryan Feinstein sent in this story (be sure to read the 'background' at the end for context):

In the heart of San Diego, there lived two groups of people, in polar opposite parts of their lives. One group consisted of students of UC San Diego, eagerly anticipating the future with excitement and idealism. The other group were citizens in the latter stages of their lives, reminiscing and rejoicing the past that they once knew. Who would have thought these two sects of society would end up finding much more in common than differences, and could gain so much insight and perspective of the world in the way they never could imagine by being in conversation? This is what happened when 20 UCSD students decided to engage a senior community, only a couple blocks from the campus, around the question: how do we come together across generations to utilize all of our gifts in an effort to work towards a common future?

At first, the scene seemed unpredictable at best. Was this going to work? To bring together a group of 50 individuals where age differences topped at 75 years apart, would there be any sense of mutual understanding? The students designed an activity based on the “The World Café” process. The first component was to ask each of these tables, “As we look at the world today, what is the unique contribution of your age group? And, what is it that you most want and need from other generations?”

Immediately, the energy of the group rose dramatically as the conversations erupted into the celebration and criticism of the different generations. After twenty minutes, each table shared their findings with the whole group. “We were the ones that allowed for women’s suffrage and the spread of democracy!” exclaimed some of the elders as they proudly stood up to speak. “We are the most tolerant and technologically savvy generation,” countered a couple of the students. However, some remarks were not as congratulatory. “Our generation basically started the movement towards global warming”, reminded a man to others that had only been praiseworthy. “We are very individualistic and live our lives based on instant gratification” noted one of the youth.

In turn, the wants and needs of other generations was the next topic of conversation. Students were very clear that they wanted the wisdom and experience of the elders. “The older generations have much insight and valuable knowledge that can be passed to us so that we do not make the same mistakes of past generations” was a general consensus from the students. Many of the elders noted that the youth have “energy, passion, creativity and conviction” that could still be passed to older generations to stand up and act on the things that they do not agree with in the world.

However, there was more to be said. “If you say that the youth want the wisdom of the older generations, it seems to me that your generation thinks of us as out of date and out of the loop about the way things are today. We rarely have a chance to interact with you, so how can you say that you want and need our experience and knowledge?” voiced a man that could not be ignored.

The next round of dialogue started with the directive: “Briefly share a story where you learned something important from someone of a different generation.” This question was a perfect transition from the last man’s comment, allowing people to think of a time that they had received important lessons and wisdom from someone of a different age-group. The students switched tables to discuss with new elders, and they were off again in thoughtful and sincere conversations.

Ten minutes went by and the final question was asked in the hope that the group would start to find answers to the main theme of the night. “What is needed to collaborate across generations for our common future?” Sparking some interest, the already energized room filled again with the passionate and thunderous noise of a committed group working towards an important goal. Drawing nearer to the end of the night, we decided to bring everyone together to see if people had found any connections, possibilities and next steps towards achieving our objective. The results were profound.

An intergenerational community had been created.

When discussing the fact that youth have more idealism, one elderly man stated “to not let life experiences ruin your idealism” and that “we all have the ability to have a youthful spirit which will give us those qualities that are so important in making an impact in the world”. A student joined in to say that “dialogue is a perfect place to start in mending the bridge between generations and appreciating each other for what we have to offer.” Finally, a young woman had the answer to the man’s question from earlier. “If you say that we do not give you a chance to provide us with your wisdom because of the lack of connectedness and communication between our generations, it is also important to realize that sometimes your generation does not give us a chance and the credibility to be even offered the wisdom in the first place.” Indeed, the bridge had been finally made: the collective voice of wanting to create the possibilities and opportunities for co-mentorship and collaboration had been heard ever so clear. With mutual respect, acknowledgement and guidance, we can work together to share the burden of fixing the planet. The stars were finally aligned.

What started as an experiment to see if two groups of people at different stages of their lives could find a place of connection turned out to be the beginning stages of a community that want to work together in efforts to change the world. If this dialogue could be done, why not that?

BACKGROUND

The students that participated in this dialogue are part of the Awakening Global Action Forum series at UCSD, and are planning on attending a major global gathering of the same name this August in Bali, Indonesia. They have spent the last two months working together in tackling some of the more prevalent issues of today such as global warming, the war in Iraq and failed leadership worldwide. They are also trying to raise funds so that other youth from around the world will be able to participate at the Gathering in Bali. If you want to know more about this important event, visit the website or email me.

Juanita Brown, David Issacs, Ken Homer, Samantha Tan, and numerous other World Café facilitators attended the last Conference in Bali, and there are still some openings for facilitators to assist at the upcoming Gathering in August. Call 415-331-7552 to inquire about participating.