How do we reimagine a dialogue between generations for better policymaking?

JRC explains | 12 March 2026 | Joint Research Centre

Across Europe, the practice of talking across age groups has drastically shifted. Traditionally, communities used to gather “under the tree” for open, ongoing conversations. Elders shared practical knowledge on sustainability and community resilience, while youth injected fresh perspectives on change.

The idea of dialogue between generations goes beyond the conversational aspect. The concept embraces the idea of mutual learning, understanding, trust and solidarity. It creates space for collective visioning, co-creation of solutions, and bridging gaps and inequalities among different generations. It stresses how generations are interconnected and share legacies and responsibilities.

In the context of policies, the traditional places of aggregation for different generations have been replaced by ad hoc consultations that very often are siloed by age groups. Over time, media narratives also concurred to present the relationship between generations under a conflictual lens.

JRC scientists have been reimagining how to re-design dialogue between generations in current times to achieve a fairer intergenerational future. The starting point was to understand the most critical issues, the root causes that hinder a truly intergenerational conversation, and reimagine how an improved dialogue may also benefit policymaking.

A new dialogue from theory to practice

Via a participatory process involving more than 500 people, scientists identified a short-term mindset, a lack of collaborative structures, and the presence of vulnerabilities as critical factors that cut across ages. Citizens and experts stressed for example the needs of ethical tech education, housing led by communities over individual interests, and amplifying civil society in EU decision-making.

In response to these findings, three key elements emerged as focal points to make a difference: inspiration, connection, and care. Inspiration allows us to think long-term, therefore also looking ahead to the future generations; connection sets the grounds for a sense of belonging and meaningful collaborations; care is needed for mutual help in the recognition that each one of us – no matter how young or old we are – can be vulnerable.

Based on this, scientists designed a new framework for intergenerational dialogue that would serve policymaking. The approach includes novel elements, such as the future‑generation proxies, to consider the voices of unborn generations, and speakers for all living beings representing nature, that take into account the most impactful transitions of recent times.

The new methodology was tested via a pilot event, an intergenerational council, in which participants belonging to different age groups met to discuss policy areas impacted by the dimension of intergenerational fairness. For a real cultural transformation, participants reflections prioritised trust among generations over stereotypes, across sectors and geographic areas.

The exercise sparked empathy across ages and produced actionable ideas in different domains such as democracy, cost of living and housing, and digital inclusion.

Why intergenerational dialogue matters

The intergenerational council model ensures inclusivity and brings citizens directly into the policy design loop. By involving representatives of all ages and proxies for future generations as well as for nature, policy drafts become richer, more forward‑looking, and better adapted to nuanced realities.

This new format of inclusive dialogue replaces episodic consultations, ensuring that policies remain responsive to evolving needs. It offers policymakers a tool to move beyond short‑term mindsets towards systemic, equitable, and forward-looking solutions for intergenerational fairness.

How the JRC supports policy in building a fair future

The JRC’s scientific work on intergenerational dialogue helped inform the broader EU Strategy on Intergenerational Fairness, aiming to ensure that current and future generations are treated fairly in EU policymaking, strengthening solidarity and long-term thinking for the benefit of the whole society. Through the JRC’s EU Policy Lab, this support began at the earliest stages, providing evidence, foresight analysis, and innovative methods to bridge theory and practice.

The JRC is advancing intergenerational fairness for better policymaking with a versatile toolkit for co-creation, offering replicable formats for policy makers at different levels of administration. Municipalities, regions, national and European bodies will have an opportunity to experiment, embed long‑term thinking, cross‑generational collaboration and address the intersectionality of vulnerabilities into every policy strand.

Through these steps, traditional consultations evolve into a designed process that continually informs policy, nurtures social cohesion and safeguards both present and future citizens.