Workshops on “Promoting Intergenerational Bonding” at 10 Schools – 2018
Workshops on “Promoting Intergenerational Bonding” at 10 Schools sponsored by National Institute of Social Defence (NISD), Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment held from January 2018 to March 2018.
AIWEFA discovered a growing gap in the outlook of the different generations, leading to conflict situations. Owing to contemporary changing family settings, social structures and processes and socio cultural factors, there has been a growing gap between the generations in attitudes, prejudice, beliefs and values. This has sometimes given way to antisocial behavior, violence and aggression towards individuals and groups. There is, therefore, an urgent need to understand the dynamics of change in the community and sensitize the generations to maintain elements of community organization, harmony, peace and ethical behavior for the development of a happy, healthy and sustainable society. Students as they grow up are in the process of forming social self, self concept, self esteem and identity while peers, family, society, community and others seek to control, discipline, and persuade them to conform in their own vision. Group dynamics breakdown leads to erratic behavioral patterns. For this purpose, AIWEFA organized workshops for school and college students to bring about transformational behavior between the different generations ( two or three).
Each workshop of 3-hour duration mainly had three sessions:
1.Technical Session,2. Legal Session & 3.Evolving Srategies –Session.
In the technical session the need to bridge the intergenerational bond is emphasised. All this is done by dialogues, participatory activities , display of videos and short films. The suggestions related to bonding through technology of mobile use, e-mail, twitter, whats app. and other social media options capture the interests of the students and are very well received as means of relating to members of the senior generations.
The legal session is meant to create awareness about various laws safeguarding the interests of parents, grand –parents and senior citizens and to discuss more on the special legislation formulated for the same purpose ie. “Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act”. It made children aware of their duties towards elders and not only their previleges.
Regarding Evolving Srategies, it was evolveded that all the three generations need each other and efforts need to be made by all to bend and mend the attitudes for a better understanding amongst themselves. The Value system needs to be inculcated right from the young age. To bridge the gap between different generations efforts need to maintain the cordial relationships. The young need to learn to give respect and love to all the elderly people, inculcate a patient hearing habit to the elders and their slow and rigid ways, Youth must learn to take advantage from rich experiences of the senior generations and need not ever consider them useless.
The 10 schools where 3 hour long workshops were held are:
1. Army Public School, Shankar Vihar, New Delhi.
2. St. Thomas Girl’s Senior Secondary School, New Delhi.
3. Salwan Girl’s Sr. Secondary School, New Delhi.
4. Swami Sivananda Memorial Institute, New Delhi.
5. Masonic Public School, New Delhi.
6. Sarvoday Kanya Vidyalay, Hauz Rani, New Delhi.
7. Sarvoday Kanya Vidyalay, Pushp Vihar ,New Delhi.
8. GBSS, Hauz Rani, New Delhi.
9. GBSS, Pushp Vihar, New Delhi.
10. GGSS, Pushp Vihar, New Delhi.
