What if adopting an intergenerational lens helped us to move forward?

We had the Silent Generation, then the Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials (Gen Y), Gen Z, Alpha… and coming up now, Beta.

Far from sharing the demographic landscape on an equitable footing, these generational groups compete with each other to make their voices heard. Power struggles arise as a function of their aspirations, skills, experiences and biases. Gaps yawn between their radically different views on issues of identity, culture, society, economics and the environment. With several generations overlapping in the labour market, some are being isolated and neglected. Others, by contrast, vehemently brandish signs and slogans demanding action to reinvent a future that they know is compromised by actions taken in a previous era. An increase in life expectancy and a growing segment of people 65 and over seeking independence and an active life has led to a ‘new longevity’ that is changing all aspects of society. It has also created its share of paradoxes and challenges to which we struggle to respond with agility as the impacts of an ageing society gathers momentum.

We know, however, that diversity and mixity are vectors of well-being in our living environments; they reveal our biases and blind spots, and enrich our understanding of the world, of history and of the systems that structure coexistence. Can we go beyond the tensions caused by the clash of values, needs and expectations of different generations? Is it possible to cultivate mutually supportive strengths to foster collective resilience? Can we create a more inclusive and supportive society for future generations? Would an intergenerational approach allow us to do better, to imagine, even co-build a brighter future? The Raccords podcast looked at the potential for innovation at this moment in time when intergenerational perspectives converge.