Happy International Youth Day Eventby Shreya Seshadri | 14-08-2022 00:15 |
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On the theme of intergenerational solidarity, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Youth says that 'we must collaborate to foster successful and equitable intergenerational relations and partnerships to ensure no one is left behind.' Intergenerational solidarity is the first step towards building a future where we can utilize the full potential of all the generations present at a particular point of time in the country. Growing up in India, one core value imparted to children at an early age is respecting our elders. Unlike the English language, Indian languages differentiate between casual and respectful forms of address. If 'you' can be used to refer to any other person in English, a casual 'tum' would be used for a peer or junior, and a respectful 'aap' would be used for an elder person in Hindi. We integrate this value in our lives on a daily basis, whether it be in the aforementioned form of respectful address or touching the feet of our elders before any important exam, event or occasion. Conversations between the grandparents, parents and children, in different combinations, occur frequently, especially in the form of learning something from each other. Children teach grandparents to navigate YouTube, grandparents teach the parents to cook a traditional recipe, the parents and grandparents teach the children how to read Tamil or stitch. In this manner, intergenerational solidarity is already prevalent in a lot of households I see here today, and I believe that makes it easier to implement and carry out plans to strengthen the same. A few events and campaigns that I believe could be implemented in Indian society (especially those with middle class joint families) today are: 1. Interactive Walks- In many colonies or apartments, it would not be an uncommon sight to see a group of grandparents, perhaps, making the rounds during mornings or evenings. I propose to encourage the youth to join them on these walks, as it would not only help in maintaining their fitness, but also provide them with a casual platform to communicate with the elderly in their society. These interactions could provide the youth with useful insights into life and experiences of the elderly, as well as enlighten the elderly about the problems and issues youth face today. 2. Learning Through Experiences- My school, Silver Oaks International School, has an activity called 'Day with a leader', where we find someone we look up to and spend an entire day with them in order to glean as much information and experiential knowledge as possible. I believe that doing a similar thing, but simply with our grandparents, or someone from a retirement home, who are leaders in their own right, would be just as, if not more, enlightening. The youth would be able to gather lessons learnt during the course of an entire life, and absorb knowledge of life, obstacles, how the world works, and a lot more. They would also be warned of what to definitely not do in order to live a peaceful life free of debt or ailments or otherwise. It would be, most importantly, a fun activity for students with added learning. 3. Locating retirement homes beside pre/ middle- schools- In order to facilitate a learning atmosphere for both the elderly, in the domains of their specific interests, and students, I believe locating retirement homes in proximity to middle schools will be beneficial. As the elderly get an opportunity to explore their interests and learn something new at their age, they can also impart knowledge and facilitate the learning of the students by conducting different activities, moderating talk sessions, giving guest lectures etc. The entire experience would be conducive to an enhanced learning atmosphere and the development of intergenerational solidarity. While intergenerational solidarity is visible in households across India, there aren't any campaigns or specific events I have been able to find that would help strengthen this bond. These could, therefore, be a few of the possibilities.
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