If you are aged 15 to 20 or over 60 we invite you to join a conversation that crosses both national borders and the generational divisions between young and old , as we delve into the future of democracy and what it means to us.
We will be discussing questions like these:
- What does ‘democracy’ mean to me?
- How can we be involved in shaping the democracies of the future?
- Democracy in practice – what is the actual experience of democracy in our lives?
- What does your ideal democratic future look like?
- How can young people drive positive democratic reforms?
We are looking for young people from 15 -20 years old and elders aged 60 or over to join our online Crossroads Café for a virtual sharing of ideas across generations to discuss the futures of democracy and what it means to us.
What are we aiming to achieve?
- Enhancing then capacity of young people and elders to understand each other
- Bringing young people from different regions and countries together to explore what they have in common
- Discovering what is important for all groups (young people and elders)
- Exploring new ideas about how values are important for renewing society
- Reducing Intergenerational Illiteracy
What do we really know about what other generations think? Or what people of our own age living in different countries believe? What do they think about? What’s important to them, when thinking about the futures they want to live in?
Our two target groups – young people 15-20 years old and elders aged 60 or older – are groups in society that rarely talk with and listen to – and learn from – each other. We believe that they have lots to say to each other: sharing their questions about what’s important in life, and their ideas about what they value.
But how to support their conversations? Many teenagers don’t know any seniors except their own family members. Most elders have little or no contact with teenagers, except perhaps their own grandchildren. And neither group get’s heard very often in discussions about improving society. Most teenagers don’t vote yet, and haven’t been to university. As for elders, far too often once elders retire their opinions no longer ‘count’, and they are put into boxes labelled ‘grandparents’.
This initiative aims to put these two generations together. We want to help people in learning to have enjoyable and interesting dialogue: across ages, across cultures, and across continents.
There will be two sessions: one on World Values Day and one a week later:
- the first session is on Thursday 17th October 2024
- the second session is on Thursday 24th October 2024
- both 2-hour sessions will start at 09.30 in UK, Ireland and parts of Africa, which is 10:30 in Continental Europe and parts of Africa, 12.30 in much of the Middle East, and 14.00 in India
Both sessions are free and will be held online using Zoom.
For each of the two dates we are aiming to recruit 50-60 attendees, comprising 30-40 young people, and 20 Elders from several countries and continents. As the Café will be during school term time we are looking to recruit young people through schools. Ideally we would ideally like 5-6 schools from different countries to participate in each session, with each school contributing 5-6 students with a mix of genders. The timing of the sessions means that these schools will most likely come from UK/Europe, Africa, India and the Middle East.
How to participate:
YOUNG PEOPLE: if your school is interested in participating please contact the event organisers at hankkune@educore.nl or at info@worldvaluesday.com. There is already strong interest from schools in several countries and if we cannot fit your school into one of the two sessions we may be able to offer further dates in due course as we will consider holding more of these intergenerational, international sessions later this year or early next year.
ELDERS: If you are 60 years old or older, please indicate your interest in participating in either of the two sessions BY REGISTERING HERE. Places are limited and we need to achieve a balance of elders from different countries and backgrounds, and so we will need to contact you to confirm your place.
The conversations are organised by Educore in collaboration with GrandBuddys and World Values Day.
Knowledge Café format:
Crossroads Cafés use an adapted Knowledge Café format as pioneered by David Gurteen. The Knowledge Café is a conversational process that brings people together to share experiences, learn from each other, build relationships and make a better sense of a complex, rapidly changing world. It is a simple but flexible conversational events. At its purest the Café allows people to have a conversation on topics of mutual interest, in order to better understand an issue. It is, at its best, a powerful sense-making experience.
What is different about the Knowledge Café, compared to similar methodologies, is that no attempt is made to make decisions or reach consensus as part of the Café. The real outcomes are what people take away in their heads and the relationships that are developed.
