Activity objectives

Aim of the seminar

To develop youth workers 'diversity management’ competences in order to create bridges between different communities, empower young people to engage with age diversity and create better opportunities for people faced with or at risk of age discrimination.

Objectives:

• To gain better understanding of what intergenerational solidarity is/it’s not, its mechanisms and effects…, through exploration of the concepts and diverse forms and practices.
• To reflect on personal system of believes, structural issues and organisational practices.
• To exchange strategies and practices of promoting intergenerational solidarity as a mean for meaningful connections, community and peace building.
• To strengthen intergenerational solidarity and anti-discriminatory behaviours and practices among (youth) professionals.

Description

To address the topic of (cultural) diversity, SALTO Inclusion & Diversity RC, in cooperation with the Network of the National Agencies of the Erasmus+: Youth in Action and European Solidarity Corps programmes, has planned 3 thematic “Embracing diversity” cycles, each covering a period of 2 years.

After closing the cycles on anti-racism and interfaith dialogue, in 2026 we start addressing the topic of intergenerational solidarity. 

The Treaty on European Union states that ‘The Union ... shall promote ... solidarity between generations’.

However, ageism, negative attitudes towards certain age groups, and demographic trends paired with multiple crises are dividing European societies and creating barriers to real inclusion and participation. These issues affect not only older generations but will also affect today’s younger generations in the future. At the same time, intergenerational solidarity and positive influences on economic development would cover the needs of different generations in a sustainable way, strengthening both democracy and social cohesion. 

What is intergenerational solidarity and how can YOUth work address it is important question that we want to tackle with this seminar.

We want to create space for reflection and look into old and new ways to build constructive dialogue between different generations, and analyse our own and the role of youth work in fostering positive interactions among individuals and groups of different age and possibliy values, beliefs and culture.

This seminar will guide participants through intergenerational solidarity and what we can learn from it. Why it is important and what is its value and relevance today. We’ll discover together the various concepts (such as intergenerational dialogue, intergenerational fairness…) and differences between those, and have a closer look at the basic elements of intergenerational solidarity, its potential and limits.

We want to discuss the pressing matters and challenges affecting intergenerational solidarity and get inspired to make our programmes and organisations more inclusive and embracing of human differences.

The seminar will be organised in Vienna, 25-29 of  May 2026. The seminar will build up on 5 ID Talks webinars  and will be followed up with a practice lab in Malta, Oct 2026, and a training course and partnership building activity in 2027. The input from those different events will be fed into the publication.