“It’s remarkable what we can learn from each other.”
Recently, our colleague, area director Hilde, attended a coffee morning in Mierlo. There she got into conversation with Piet (78) and Lotte (17), who was doing an internship there. Lotte explained how difficult she sometimes finds it that everything in her life moves so quickly: school, work, social media. Piet smiled and said, "In the old days, everything moved more slowly. We weren't in a hurry, but we didn't have Wi-Fi either. Maybe we can find a middle ground." They laughed together, but the conversation continued. At the end of the morning, Lotte said, "I thought older people mainly wanted to talk about the past, but we actually talked about the present. And I liked that." We would like to see more encounters like this happen.
In Geldrop-Mierlo, we want to build bridges between generations. And we can only do that with the help of people like you. Who has more to share than someone with life experience? And who better to show young people that peace, attention, and genuine conversations matter? That's why we'd like to ask you this question: What would you like to learn from a young person—and what would you like to pass on yourself?
Perhaps you want to share your knowledge about cooking, gardening, dealing with setbacks, or having a good conversation without a phone. Or maybe you're curious about how young people today think about sustainability, relationships, or mental health. Perhaps you want to learn how WhatsApp groups work, how to save photos of your children or grandchildren, or what it's like to grow up in a world full of stimuli. Whatever it is, your experience and interest make you ideally suited to participate.
What are we going to do?
We are organizing a series of five monthly meetings, starting on February 25 at 2:20 p.m. or 3:10 p.m. at Strabrecht College in Geldrop, where young and old can meet in a relaxed atmosphere. The other dates are March 11, April 15, May 20, and a closing meeting on June 10 in the library in Geldrop.
How can you participate?
Send an email to: gebiedsregisseurs@geldrop-mierlo.nl