Baby Boomers being upskilled by Gen Z

Through an array of virtual engagements, a social impact organisation is bringing alive the magic of intergenerational bonding

December 11, 2021 09:29 pm | Updated December 13, 2021 06:09 pm IST

At a session by Silver Talkies

At a session by Silver Talkies

A few minutes into the dance session, Kushboo Shahzade Khan’s students interrupt her about the audio quality. “Can you please be a little louder?” says a student. Another person in the group makes a similar request. Kushboo adjusts her laptop and offers to repeat the instructions. The class breaks into a dance.

This reporter was recently in the audience for this dance class on Zoom where baby boomers were learning from a dance instructor from the Gen Z. It was being done for Silver Talkies, a social impact organisation working with older adults from seven cities, including Chennai, and promoting intergenerational bonds.

For Kushboo, this is the very first stint in teaching seniors and the fact that it is being done online, makes it challenging.

“A train of thoughts were running through my mind before I signed up to teach senior citizens. I was nervous in the first class, but what I learnt over the last few sessions is that you have to read a generation’s behaviour code and adapt to their mindset and language when possible,” says Kushboo, who works for Motley Dance Company.

More than 20 youngsters in the age group of 18 to 26 have signed up to volunteer as ‘Young Changemakers of Silver Talkies’, where they enrich the lives of older adults with their skill or an idea.

Between academics, Richelle Adarsh, pursuing her bachelors in psychology and media analytics at a university in Singapore, took French classes for members of the Silver Talkies Club. She also plans to engage with the group through a video series. Similarly, ‘Virtual Shiksha’, an initiative by three young students, takes tech classes for seniors. Besides, there are other young volunteers like Aryamaan who helped conduct interviews for a research study.

Through virtual classes, workshops and sessions with young changemakers, this initiative seeks to build an army of volunteers who will use their skills to bond with the silver generation.

Some of the recent sessions included a musical evening featuring music therapist, Rajam Shanker, and her teenage students playing the violin and a medley of Carnatic songs; a quiz programme facilitated by 14-year Aswatha Biju, one of the youngest paleontologists; and the literary corner saw an interaction with a 10-year-old author, Kavya Kompella.

Nidhi Chawla, co-founder, Silver Talkies, which is based out of Bengaluru, feels these sessions will go a long way in bridging the gap between generations and make the seniors feel more connected. For youngsters, it serves as an opportunity to be sensitive to the needs of the older generation.

“Changemaker Richelle Adarsh’s parent recently shared with us that they have noticed a change in their daughter. She has become more empathetic and caring towards elders: so much so that she donated the entire stipend she received for the classes she conducted to a charitable organisation for seniors,” says Nidhi. A few young changemakers have also written articles for digital magazine, ranging from “best apps for seniors” to “how to put Alexa to use”. They have also shared stories about their grandparents and their experience working with seniors, she says. “We had many young volunteers pitching in to help run errands for seniors during the Covid lockdowns and this engagement continues,” says Nidhi.

The platform is seeking to rope in more young volunteers. “What we want them to do is volunteer for two to three hours a month; location does not matter as all classes are online,” she says. Nidhi says tech classes in particular are much sought-after, followed by language learning which stimulates cognitive abilities; writing, art and storytelling workshops. They are also coming up with new-age career ideas to carry into a second innings of a career. She says a majority of the events are kept free for seniors above 55. Pandemic has also widened Silver Talkies’ membership base. They currently have members from seven cities. Nidhi adds: “Our plan is to organise offline meet-ups in each of these cities every quarter — that is, if the pandemic allows us to do that.”

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.