Creating an Intergenerational Ripple Around the World
by Lyn Hartley
Trailblazer and social change activist Juantia Brown, most recently known for her work with the World Café, has quietly been a key supporter behind the design of the Shambhala Institute summer sessions. And not only has she contributed greatly to the design elements of the Institute with her partner David Isaacs, they also brought elder Anne Dosher into the mix.
Juanita is an example of one of the many intriguing people that lightly touches down each June in Halifax and gently pushes the Institute in new directions. Juanita's journey with the Institute started in 2001 when she hosted a module on Strategic Dialogue. Anyone who has ever spoken with Juanita will know her passion for creating meaningful conversation around questions that matter.
In 2003, Juanita and Claudia Chender,who had helped to organize Shambhala's first emerging leaders programs, came together to explore the possibility of creating a pioneering inquiry--one that combined Juanita's interests in what she today calls "compassionate activism" and Claudia's intuition that accessing intergenerational wisdom might provide new learnings both for younger leaders and for those of other generations wanting to make a difference in today's world. Together, they shaped an experiment to bring together a small group of people to explore intergenerational collaboration for the common good at the Institute's 2004 summer progam.
The idea took off like wildfire. Very shortly the gathering ballooned from 20 to 75 participants. For three days in June 2004, a group ranging in ages from 15-88 representing 18 countries gathered in Halifax. This group set out to discover what they could learn about intergenerational wisdom and collaboration on behalf of life-affirming futures. And, demonstrated by the overwhelming response to their early invitations, clearly this Juanita, Claudia and the hosting team had tapped into a deep wellspring of intense interest.
"It's important to bring people together across traditional boundaries," reflects Juanita, "and age and stage of life are one of the key ones in Western societies. I realized that if we could create the space for authentic dialogue and collaboration across the generations, we'd perhaps discover a tremendous force for social change that could make a real difference to our common future."
Anne Dosher, co-founder of the Institute for Relational Development who serves as the elder and "guardian of the soul" of the World Cafe, had similar interests. As she recalled her years in the Royal Air Force during World War II, she shared how infrequently youth had a voice in larger public dialogue. Anne was also inspired by Mary Catherine Bateson's seminal research on adult stages of life. Bateson's research identifies the unique resources and passion that elders bring to society. This is particularly true today, when elders have the time, health and wealth to actively contribute to a better world.
The impact of the initial 2004 gathering at Shambhala was immediate, sending ripples of conversation into the global community. Many people went back with heightened awareness about intergenerational issues and opportunities including Juanita's partner David. At a large family celebration just after the 2004 gathering, David brought 50 family members ages 5 to 95 into a "circle of life" dialogue to share family stories that had members laughing, crying, and commenting (to this day!) that this was the high point of their history as an extended family. Another long time Shambhala contributor, Toke Moller, also began hosting simultaneous intergenerational dialogues in Europe.
The ripples went beyond individual gatherings as key organizations began to realize the importance of the intergenerational conversation that had started in Halifax. In 2005, David Isaacs, Ryan Feinstein, and Samantha Tan, who had attended the Shambhala dialogues, hosted a intergenerational World Cafe at the international conference of the Institute for Noetic Sciences, in which teenagers from the IONS youth program joined with octogenarians and all generations in-between to explore what connected rather than what divided them.
This dynamic experience sparked a powerful follow up intergenerational gathering among Israelis and Palestinians, to help heal the wounds of war. Hosted by an Israeli IONS member, Nitzan Gordon of Beyond Words, the session used not only Café dialogue and listening circles, but also art, music and movement to engage intergenerational connections across the divides that so often separate people in the Middle East. Nitzan wrote that, "about 90 people from the ages of 11 to 70 participated. Vivien (an Arab Muslim adolescent girl) shared, " I am so happy to be here with my whole family doing something like this. We don't often do things together in places where there is so much love." And Pinchas (a Jewish man) reflected that, " My question at the World Cafe was: What does it mean to be truly human? Now after the workshop I have received an answer. This is what it means. This connection. This love and the ability to be fully ourselves in a supportive environment." Similarly, the Quest for Global Healing conference, a May 2006 gathering in Bali, Indonesia will feature a multigenerational thread amongst concerned global citizens seeking new insights for healing across the traditional boundaries of religion, culture, age, and political persuasion.
The ripples continue to expand. At the most recent Pegasus Systems Thinking in Action Conference, Anne Dosher hosted a session with Bob Stilger and Samantha Tan, entitled "Mixed up Generations: A System of Life. A short description from this session states: "Each generation in the prevailing culture has its own reasons for ambient anxiety. Older people are marginalized. Younger people struggle with economic insecurity. Those in the middle feel sandwiched between the needs of their children and their parents." Using the World Café, this group explored multi-generational perspectives as a way of seeing a larger interdependent system.
What is budding from all these intergenerational seeds? The collective intelligence that flowers when you bring together people with unique perspectives to contribute in any system. The spirit of multigenerational gathering appears to be building momentum as a potential social movement that can foster intergenerational collaboration on issues of common passionate concern. The expanding circles of dialogue center around the question: "What are the common elements that can connect a thoughtful group of people with complimentary contributions who care deeply about the legacies they leave for future generations, whatever their age or stage of life?"
What appears to be emerging is great concern about the impacts of our current lifestyles and choices on our children, grandchildren and future generations. And this links back to Mary Catherine Bates' research on the special resources that today's older populations can contribute to society. With the many critical issues facing our communities, it is important to not sideline voices but rather find a means for collaboration based on a systemic perspective on the whole.
While intergenerational dialogues are now encircling the globe, the opportunity continues to discover the special contribution of each generation to the common quest for healing the planet and creating a future that is worthy of our best efforts. "We are convening a new reality when we invite the generations to sit down together to apply their collective intelligence to issues of common concern," comments Juanita.
Juanita feels that it is important to honor the source of this important intergenerational exploration. "The Shambhala Institute has been the seed bed for nurturing this important conversation that is now finding expression at intergenerational gatherings around the world. It is important to never leave behind our recognition of and gratitude for the unique contribution that the Institute has offered to this growing movement."
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