Stellenbosch University (SU) for the first time played host to the St Gallen Symposium, a prestigious annual event organised by the University of St Gallen in Switzerland with support from the Swiss Embassy in South Africa. It was the first time the event was hosted by a university in the Western Cape. 

The luncheon roundtable discussion on 4 May was held in the Adam Small Theatre on the Stellenbosch campus where a diverse group of guests were invited to ponder ways to bridge the generational gap. Prominent speakers included Jonathan Jansen, Distinguished Professor in Education at SU, and the Swiss Consul General, Markus Thür. 

Founded in 1969, the St Gallen Symposium is one of the world’s oldest platforms for cross-generational dialogue. The St Gallen Symposium is driven by a team of students from the University of St Gallen, some of whom also attended the Stellenbosch event. A group of 20 students from St Gallen University visited the SU campus in April and a delegation of SU students will be the guests of the Swiss university in July this year. St Gallen University also has eight institutional research agreements with SU and many academic collaborations.

The topic of a generational gap led to a vibrant discussion and the highlight was Jansen’s no-holds-barred take on the issue. He started off by rubbishing the idea of a generational gap. Jansen shared experiences from his childhood to show from a young age he engaged with older people. “I never had a sense of a generational gap in my upbringing. I’ve always enjoyed talking to people, all kinds of people. I try to get inside their heads to understand. My wife and I also taught our two children to be fearless. They respect people regardless of who you are, what you look like, how you love and where you come from. When I became a professor, my students were my friends. I would walk across campus twice a day just to be able to talk to young people.”

Jansen noted that the generation gap is often used as an explanation when differences lead to confrontation. Falling back on essential identities such as age, race, gender is a dangerous and dishonest way to explain differences, Jansen argued. It's also problematic to assume there is consensus among different generations, he said. "You can pull together 100 students anywhere on campus and see if there is consensus. They don't all think the same way. Some are very conservative, others are radical and there are always those who couldn't care less. To assume consensus in the younger generation is to also assume consensus in the older generation. But that is simply not true." 

The assumption that younger people are more adept at new technologies than older people also doesn't hold water, he said. To prove this point, he referred to the two local academics who lead the way with utilising digital tools to facilitate teaching during the lockdown period of the Covid-19 pandemic. "Younger people learnt from tech experts in their sixties how to navigate the new online tools to learn remotely. So, I don't buy the nonsense that there is a barrier between the generations in terms of technology."

Jansen encouraged the audience to look beyond trivial differences to rather focus on shared values. "The issues that will fundamentally change our world such as climate change and artificial intelligence are intergenerational problems. All of us will be affected in some way or another. Instead of focusing on generational differences, we should ask ourselves what solidarity looks like, especially in a country that hasn't yet made peace with its past. Fact is, we got into this mess together and the only way out is together. But our solidarity must move beyond words. We must find the shared values that connect us to take on the problems that could destroy our very existence."

Jansen concluded by saying generational differences are often rooted in a lack of respect and capacity to listen. "I think that one of the major reasons we end up in this dilemma is that we haven't learned how to speak to each other, and how to listen to each other in a respectful way."

The Swiss digitalisation expert Marc Degen shared thoughts on a new generational contract focusing on innovation and technology. Degen showed how over the past century, technological innovation often led to societal unrest and conflict between an older generation that preferred the status quo and a new generation that embraced new technology. “Over the past few years, technological advancements have been happening at a mind-blowing speed. Technological innovation speeds up how we travel, work and communicate. This has a dramatic impact on everybody’s daily lives,” Degen said. He proposed that technology could be used to build bridges between generations, but reminded the audience that communication and understanding could not be forced. “Most achievements stem from some small coincidences, I call this the butterfly effect. And it’s all about trust and our ability to be open to life’s surprises. If you can expand the number of coincidences in your life, it will lead to thriving innovation and better communication.”