Common Ground
Common Ground aims to bring together different generations to co-create a suite of materials that demonstrate where they align around particular issues that are – or should be – high on the EU agenda.
Politically, age is increasingly a dividing line. The cultural backlash against changing social values is a core factor in the rise of populism. On many issue-specific questions, old and young seem to be starkly divided – for example, Brexit, LGBTQ+ rights, vaccines or the climate crisis. This dividing line could have a serious impact on progressive politics, which in turn risks radicalising the next generation of voters.
In the long term, the values gap between young and old will fade, but this will take at least a generation. Moreover, the normalisation of liberal values may just give way to some other divide unless we fix systemic inequality. Until then, we need to do our part to bring together these two worlds to prevent conflict as much as possible.
Through retreats, research and workshops, Common Ground will identify a series of areas where there is strong agreement between young and old, creating an unbranded advocacy pack that can be used by Civil Society Organisations in their interactions with Members of the European Parliament.
It will also generate a stream of branded content – ‘Act2Gether’ – around the upcoming EU elections that shows there is more that binds young and old than divides.
Common Ground aims to bring together different generations to co-create a suite of materials that demonstrate where they align around particular issues that are – or should be – high on the EU agenda.
Politically, age is increasingly a dividing line. The cultural backlash against changing social values is a core factor in the rise of populism. On many issue-specific questions, old and young seem to be starkly divided – for example, Brexit, LGBTQ+ rights, vaccines or the climate crisis. This dividing line could have a serious impact on progressive politics, which in turn risks radicalising the next generation of voters.
In the long term, the values gap between young and old will fade, but this will take at least a generation. Moreover, the normalisation of liberal values may just give way to some other divide unless we fix systemic inequality. Until then, we need to do our part to bring together these two worlds to prevent conflict as much as possible.
Through retreats, research and workshops, Common Ground will identify a series of areas where there is strong agreement between young and old, creating an unbranded advocacy pack that can be used by Civil Society Organisations in their interactions with Members of the European Parliament.
It will also generate a stream of branded content – ‘Act2Gether’ – around the upcoming EU elections that shows there is more that binds young and old than divides.