International Youth Day 2022
International Youth Day is celebrated on August 12, 2022, under the auspices of the United Nations. The keyword of this year's event is "intergenerational solidarity." Why is this the main slogan of this year's youth day? Because, as experts from the United Nations claim, the world is facing the problem of "ageism."
Ageism turns out to be a problem in all parts of society, and it represents the existence of stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination based on age. The United Nations defines stereotypes as what we think about an entire group, prejudice as our feelings towards a group, and discrimination as actions towards a group. In this case, young people are especially "under attack" - based on age, their right to independent work, decision-making, etc., is questioned.
Although this is a problem the world has faced since time immemorial, generational shifts occurred earlier. With the extended working life, however, it happens that the age at which young people are respected also moves up, which in turn causes young professionals to spend their youth being disrespected. And yet, older people have a good argument for their command: experience. It is clear that, especially in the business world, experience carries more weight than knowledge; even someone who may not have finished school but has been working in his field for 20 years or more is more valuable than someone who has just left the student bench. On the other hand, such established relations are demotivating for new employees who do not feel valued at their workplace, which is one of the most common reasons for changing a workplace.
The United Nations recognizes the solution to this problem in intergenerational solidarity. As the word solidarity suggests, it is a matter of transferring or sharing experience and knowledge in a way that is optimal for learning; a way that bypasses stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination. Ageism is not only about discrimination against young people. With the development of information technologies, for example, young people have an advantage because the period of adaptation to novelty is shorter. It is the task of young people, without ridicule, to make it easier for their older colleagues to accept new technologies that facilitate the work process.
The panels that will be held this year as part of the program organized by the United Nations will address these and other problems and present concrete steps to solving these problems.
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