So what?
Emerging conclusions
and considerations
This Churchill Fellowship was inspiring and life-affirming.
And yet much of what I experienced and witnessed wasn’t earth-shatteringly original in and of itself.
But when you put it all together you catch a glimpse of a transformed world: an intergenerational future. As well as a clear view of what is holding us back from that future.
My preoccupation as I emerge from this experience is that we need much more of the sort of intergenerational initiative I witnessed. And quickly! We have no time to waste if we are serious about fostering the intergenerational connections needed in the years of uncertainty and change we have ahead.
I will be reflecting on my experience for many years to come. But for now, here are the considerations I will be banging on about to my clients, in my networks and as trustee of the Rural Coffee Caravan, and the ideas and feelings I’m holding on to personally.
Considerations for civil society organisations
Be careful not to confuse ambition with scale
Don’t get sucked into the belief that an ambitious response to loneliness involves millions of people. Our own personal experiences of loneliness tells us that our loneliness is healed not by what feels like an ‘intervention’ aimed at millions, but by a set of deeply human, personalised connections. For those of us preoccupied with easing this crisis, we are all grappling with the need to unleash connections for millions, but the reality is that this will only work at a human scale.
Be wary of the need to create volunteer and beneficiary groups which may create the conditions for insufficient, inadequate relationships where deeper, more human relationships are needed
The charity model does great good in the world — unleashing millions of hours of care, connection and love in communities across the UK. But like all structures it has its limits. If you are interested in building self-sustaining, meaningful relationships between different ages, then you might want to be careful about not creating defined volunteer and beneficiary groups. Whilst safety for all involved is paramount, these definitions and the processes they require can eliminate the possibility for meaningful, lasting or autonomous intergenerational relationships.
Collaborative infrastructure that generates trust and strengthens a wider movement is essential
Covid lockdowns revealed for each and every one of us how important intergenerational connectedness is for us, our loved ones and the people we live alongside. This has created a surge in interest in and commitment to work that connects generations. Rising interest can create rising tensions in resource-scarce sectors. We must get ahead of these dynamics by creating truly collaborative and supportive infrastructure and networks to build a stronger, more united sector. Political, public and funder interest will surge and wane in the decades ahead, a strong sector catalysing a wider movement of intergenerational connectivity will be the key to our success
Combine forces to make bigger asks of funders and the Government
Through trusting networks and connective infrastructure we can both share and learn together, and disagree well on the areas of difference in our approaches and practices. Perhaps more importantly we can find common ground to call for greater prioritisation of resources for the sector, shared policy initiatives and campaign together on common concerns.
Considerations for philanthropy organisations and others with money to move
Commit to long term funding and leadership in the field of intergenerational practice
From breakthroughs in malaria to early intervention for child development — when philanthropy commits to a sector or field for between one and two decades it makes the difference between ideas or work that is a ‘flash in the pan’ or ‘one hit wonder’ to change that is deep, sustained and systemic. If you are interested in a shift in intergenerational connectivity, your commitment over decades would be the difference between short-lived or long-term impact.
Create the conditions in which multitudes of intergenerational work can flourish
An intergenerational future will become a reality when there’s a proliferation of thick and thin social ties between generations in all aspects of our shared and common life. From workplace initiatives like Cirkel through to neighbourhood cafes like Vollpension, to housing solutions like Wohnbuddy, an intergenerational future is being seeded in many more places that our imaginations might be letting us see from within the silos of our sectors. An intergenerational movement needs leadership, investment and encouragement. Don’t limit your funding to the areas of practice that are relatively well-known already, for example the great work done across the country to connect schools and care homes.
Interrogate whether charity structures are the best or only way to fund meaningful work to connect different ages
As stated above, the charity model does great good in the world - unleashing millions of hours of care, connection and love in communities across the UK. But like all structures it has its limits. Be careful not to require projects you fund to have volunteer and beneficiary groups which can eliminate the possibility for any meaningful, lasting or autonomous intergenerational relationships.
Being ambitious doesn’t necessarily mean scaling
As stated above, it really is this simple. Our own personal experiences of loneliness tells us that our loneliness is healed not by what feels like an ‘intervention’ aimed at millions. But a set of deeply human, personalised connections. For those of us preoccupied with easing this crisis, we are all grappling with the need to unleash connections for millions, but the reality that this will only work at a human scale.
Fund infrastructure!
Covid lockdowns revealed for each and every one of us how important intergenerational connectedness is for us, our loved ones and the people we live alongside. If you are interested in intergenerational connectivity right now one of the most sustainable investments you can make is in truly collaborative infrastructure that creates the networks needed to unlock a wider movement in civil society and beyond. Rising interest, like yours, can create rising tensions in resource scarce sectors so beware of how your funding can deplete and divide a sector and agenda, instead of galvanising and unleashing it.
Incentivise intergenerational ideas in the social business and entrepreneurship worlds
From Vollpension to Wohnbuddy to Cirkel to GrandNanny, social entrepreneurs around the world are developing new ideas to ease myriad interconnected social, economic and political challenges by harnessing the power of intergenerational social connection. Don’t leave these sorts of ideas to chance, seed and incentivise them in accelerators and start up ecosystems.
Notes to self
Beware of the pull to intellectualise and disconnect from a human crisis
For those engaged in the work of intergenerational work, it can be relatively easy to slip into a mindset where we obsess about defining the problems and the challenges. It can also lead us to assuming there are large-scale, instrumentalist, machine-like responses that can fix the glitch in the system that is loneliness. Amongst many things, this mindset can inoculate us from what is needed: a universal step towards one another. We live in not just a moment, but an era, of uncertainty, of collapse and of almost certain loss. This calls for us all to lean towards one another and into the messy, often awkward, reality of what it takes to witness the loneliness of others or soothe our own loneliness. My simple and lasting takeaway from this Fellowship is that we all have a role to play in building bridges with other generations, however uncomfortable that may feel.
Take time. Make time.
Designing connections and relationship into our lives is hard when there are so many other pressures on our time. As a freelancer I have found I have more freedom than I once had to plan and design how I spend my days and the intention I bring to my relationships and the social networks I’m a part of. I am more sure than ever before that I want to use this freedom — this privilege — to design intergenerational connectivity into my life in even more creative and stretching ways.
Words I’m holding on to
"The wave of the future is on the local level. Don't waste your heart and mind trying to pull down what is already destroying itself. But come into where you're almost below the radar and reorganize life. We want communities where we live and work and fight for the future."
— Joanna Macy, activist and author, on responding to the trouble we are in
“To love well is the task in all meaningful relationships, not just romantic bonds.”
— bell hooks, activist and author, on love
“We are the people who have to take it upon ourselves to stitch together the social fabric of our country once again because it is the foundation on which we build everything else. If you want effective policy to address climate change, if you want effective policy that ensures that we have more support for people so they can be with their families when they’re ill, if you want effective policies to help strengthen education in our schools, you need social connection.
Because it is only when people care about and are vested in one another that they advocate together, that they move together in the same direction, recognizing that a solution to someone’s problem, even if it’s not my problem, is a solution that we all need because we are one people and we are united.”