Reaching Younger Generations & Strengthening Intergenerational Connections

WEBINAR

Wednesday 29 April
14.30 – 15.30 GMT / 15.30 – 16.30 CET

Еngaging new members and reaching younger generations
Strengthening intergenerational connections within cultural associations

How can cultural organisations create relevance, trust and a sense of belonging for different age groups, including younger people and older generations?
While the wish to attract a greater number of young people is near universal among cultural organisations, this webinar aims to shift the focus from recruitment strategies to engagement of new members by strengthening existing communities.
The practices shared will serve as starting points to reflect on how values, language, roles and formats influence who feels invited to participate, and who does not. Rather than offering ready made solutions, the webinar encourages members to explore how inclusive approaches to membership can grow into shared commitment and collective movement.

Framing the challenge; what is really at stake?
Across Europe, many cultural associations are facing a similar development. Membership bases are ageing, and boards often do not reflect generational diversity. While young people still participate in cultural activities through schools or short-term projects, long-term commitment to associations is becoming less common. At the same time, organisations operate in a context of increasing competition for time and attention within a highly digital and individualised society. Many of our structures were designed for stability and continuity, whereas younger generations often seek flexibility, purpose and agency.

The essential question may not be how we attract young people, but whether we are willing to rethink our formats, language, roles and even power structures in order to create space for new generations.

Reframing structures: Idea vs execution
While many organisations are taking steps towards greater inclusion of young people in decision-making processes, it is not necessarily enough for their voices to be truly heard against the backdrop of demands and limits placed on cultural organisations either by their own structures or outside limits like the time limited nature of project- based work, for example. Hearing voices of different generation in the context of cultural co-creation should not be an empty value, but the first step that leads to reflection and possibly change if it is voiced as necessary.

How can we support participants of different generations in gaining competence to not only adhere to the usual way of organising cultural activities but also challenge them so that their involvement can become even more meaningful? What are the limits of their inclusion? How can we strengthen existing communities within the scope of project to project planning?

Amateo’s perspective
As a European network dedicated to active participation in culture, Amateo sees it as a responsibility to address the role of reaching younger generations and strengthening intergenerational connections.

AGENDA

* Introduction
* Best practice presentation (Pueri Cantores)
* Relevance
* Barriers to active participation
* Room for questioning
* Amateo’s role

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Pueri Cantores Choir Federation
The Pueri Cantores Choir Federation is a community of approximately 1,100 Catholic children’s and youth choirs. They are active in 37 countries across Europe, North and South America, Africa, and Asia.
At the heart of its work are choir festivals at the regional, national, and international levels.
With 470 choirs and approximately 90,000 singers, the German Pueri Cantores Association is the association with the largest membership and has had a so-called Youth Working Group for the past four years. Its aim is to integrate young singers more closely into the association’s work.

Our special guests from German Choir Association Pueri Cantores (Children’s and Youth Choir Association), would demonstrate how they contribute to the association – which is primarily dominated by choir directors – while also working on structures to expand and sustain this participation.