Today's society is moving fast, but not always in the right direction. In the name of innovation and immediacy, we are leaving behind those who have the most to contribute: our seniors. And it's not just about affection or family ties, but also about the place occupied - or no longer occupied - by professionals with decades of experience in their fields.
Today, many men and women with valuable careers, who have built knowledge, who have led processes, who have formed generations, are made invisible simply because they have crossed a certain age. Age exclusion has become a new form of silent discrimination, disguised as modernity. Thus, not only the voice of those who have much to say is lost, but also the possibility of building real bridges between generations.
Instead of connecting younger people with older adults, of generating spaces for feedback, we are sowing a gap that impoverishes everyone. Young people need references, accompaniment, stories that teach them to interpret the complexity of the present. And the elderly need to continue contributing, to feel part of it, to be recognized for their value.
It is not about charity or nostalgia. It is about a strategic vision of the future. Because a society that does not listen to its elders is disconnected from its history, its ethics and its accumulated experience. And a youth that walks alone, without dialogue with those who have already walked the path, runs the risk of repeating mistakes and losing depth.
From our point of view, it is urgent to reconnect the elderly with their communities, with their colleagues, with the spaces where they can continue to build meaning. It is not enough to include them: they must be integrated with respect and admiration. We must create opportunities for active participation, intergenerational exchange and the valorization of lived knowledge.
Age should not be a limit, but a possibility to generate synergies. To bet on connection is to bet on a wiser, fairer and more humane society.
Adelaida Struck G.
