The “new normal” is for all ages
— Luis Manuel Pinto &Daniel Kropf
The pandemic revealed the colours of the embedded ageism in our societies. Children and older adults— two edges of the age spectrum—have been the most impacted by social isolation and access to education and healthcare. Still, children are rarely directly present in conversations about how we should organise our lives. They count on good-willed adults as representatives, gatekeepers—and sometimes translators—of children’s views into knowledge that decision-makers.
The pandemic has been devastating, but also brought an important awareness to the surface and is giving us all an opportunity to fundamentally change the narrative of how different generations relate and participate together in creating the post-pandemic world—the so-called “new normal”.
In this article Daniel and Luis would like to make a holistic case for promoting partnership between children and adults, quickly navigating rights, well-being, sustainability and humanistic perspectives. The next era can be one of partnership across generations.
Read the full opinion article on the OECD Forum platform.
“This article is part of a series in which OECD experts and thought leaders — from around the world and all parts of society — address the COVID-19 crisis, discussing and developing solutions now and for the future. Aiming to foster the fruitful exchange of expertise and perspectives across fields to help us rise to this critical challenge”
