Webinar summary: "Intergenerationality in commitment environments: what approach do young people in the Mediterranean have?"

Host: Laetitia EL HADDAD, Coordinator of the Jeunesses Med network, REF

Moderator : Giulia SOSTERO (ALDA - Italy)

Speakers : Clara OLIVET (Engagé.e.s et Déterminé.e.s - France), Rabii LAHBIBI (FTCR - Tunisia) 

 

 

To kick off the discussion, Giulia shared a quote attributed to Socrates on the subject of intergenerationality: "Today's young people love luxury, scoff at authority and gossip instead of working. They no longer stand up when an adult enters their room. They contradict their parents, display arrogant pride in society, rush to the table to gobble down desserts and confront their teachers. Our young people have bad manners and no respect for age. In this day and age, children are tyrants. Intergenerational issues have been with us for a very long time. 

 

In France, the association "Les petits frères de pauvres", which fights against the isolation of people over 65, publishes an annual barometer on the state of isolation among the elderly. The 2023 report notes that intergenerational ties are becoming increasingly strained, and that the vast majority of intergenerational ties will take place within the family circle. However, within these family units, grandparents see far less of their grandchildren. This is largely due to geographical distance. From Clara's point of view, this situation can also be explained by the fact that European societies are becoming increasingly individualistic, and keeping in touch with one's elders is therefore not a priority. 

 

As far as commitment is concerned, the associative sector brings together a huge number of intergenerational links. Indeed, the majority of associates are under 35 and over 65. The 35-65 age group, on the other hand, represents only 23% of the population involved in the associative sector, despite being the largest age category. This can be explained by the fact that at this age, priorities are different, and the context is not conducive to volunteering. 

 

Engagé.e.s et Déterminé.e.s (E&D), of which Clara is a member, is a network of youth-led associations working in the field of international solidarity. With a consortium of 12 associations (including REF), E&D is the coordinator of the "Place aux Jeunes" (PAJ) project. PAJ's aim is to strengthen the role of young people in international solidarity projects and organizations, and to ensure that public authorities take greater account of the needs of young people. PAJ has identified two major challenges in terms of intergenerational cooperation. The first is that small associations have aging tendencies, which will lead to their demise if they don't "rejuvenate" their youth base. The second is that other structures really want to integrate young people, but don't know how to go about it. PAJ is there to support structures in both cases. 

 

However, there are many obstacles to these intergenerational encounters, such as adapting the way the structure works, the stereotypes that the two groups have of each other, and the balance of power within the associations.  

 

 

 

Rabii explains that intergenerational relations are above all vertical. So, in terms of hierarchy, the person at the "top" is older than the person at the "bottom". This vertical relationship mainly concerns the transmission of information, which is of a believable nature. For a long time, the word of elders was never questioned, since their age and experience gave them a certain legitimacy. With the advent of the Internet in the 2000s, these vertical relationships were transformed into horizontal dynamics. Thanks to the Internet, anyone of any generation can verify and access information.  

 

Secondly, as far as intergenerational relations in the Tunisian workplace are concerned, they are intrinsically hierarchical, and positions of greater responsibility will therefore go to the elders. This relationship is enriched by other milieus, such as the family and the economy. However, with the advent of digital technology and the extension of engagement into this horizontal space, Tunisia's vertical circles of engagement are facing an identity crisis. Young people will be solicited in form (creation of Facebook accounts, for example), but in substance, the situation remains highly hierarchical, and association presidents who have been in charge for 35 years are not delegating to the younger generations. As a result, the committed and democratic message conveyed by these committed circles loses all its legitimacy. 

 

Thirdly, Rabii proposes a three-pronged approach to young Mediterranean people's approach to intergenerational relations in engagement environments:

- the human axis: where young people need to work on respect and recognition for their elders. 

- an understanding of the rules governing relationships: verticality is not going to be transformed into horizontality overnight, and young people have to fight their battle without rushing their elders.

- the strategic and political axis: young people must defend their ideas loud and clear, and understand that intergeneration is not just a structure, but a multitude of dynamics.  

 

Finally, according to Rabii, generational rupture is not necessarily negative. Indeed, during certain historical events in Tunisia, such as the 2011 revolution or the events of 1938, intergenerational ruptures can also lead to the positive. 

According to Rabii: "Let's not take a binary view of intergenerational issues. 

 

 

 

In a time devoted to discussion, participants were able to talk about intergenerational issues in their countries. Palestinian participants explained that in Palestine, decision-making positions in government were held by people from older generations, and that young people had no place in these processes. The pretexts given by the government to explain the lack of representation of young people are: the conflict situation in which the country finds itself, and the legitimacy of the older generations to be in these positions since they have sacrificed themselves for the country. Although meetings are organized to discuss the participation of young people in decision-making processes, they never lead to anything concrete. And yet, all generations share the same values and principles around a common cause: that of making the world we live in a better place. It is therefore essential that the different generations unite around this cause.  

 

The Moroccan case is different. Although intergenerational relations remain complicated in some cases, as the older generation is unwilling to delegate to the younger generations, leaders encourage young people to join associations and take an active part in political debates. However, young people are reticent on these issues, and only 14% of them have joined associations or political parties.  

 

 

 

The webinar ended with Clara Olivet sharing a quote from Dumbledore: "Young people can't know what old people think and feel, but old people are guilty of forgetting what it's like to be young ".