Intergenerational encounters governed by efficiency – At risk of losing their value

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– There is a political vision of increasing age integration, yet intergenerational encounters are treated as superfluous. They lack a defined role in education and welfare policies, and their practical value is often overlooked, says researcher Natalie Davet.

Study of Intergenerational Encounters in Gothenburg
This thesis is based on a study of two municipal projects in Gothenburg: Cultural Encounters Without Borders and Cultural Centre Backaplan – An Intergenerational Dialogue in Urban Development. These projects engaged participants between the ages of three and eighty-four and took place in formal educational and care institutions as well as in non-formal public urban spaces.

Through multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork, including participant observations, conversational interviews, and policy analysis, Natalie Davet examines how intergenerational encounters are conditioned, enabled, and constrained by societal constructions of age, time, and space.

Efficiency Over Relationships
The findings demonstrate that intergenerational encounters are often shaped by an ideal of efficiency and resource optimization. Rather than being seen as opportunities for mutual learning and social bonding, they are framed as instruments for saving time and money.

– There is a prevailing expectation that intergenerational encounters should be "hyper-efficient"—delivering immediate results, fitting into predefined time structures, and contributing to societal goals in a measurable way. This risks reducing these encounters to a functionalist tool rather than allowing them to develop organically, says Davet.

Lack of Political Recognition
Despite being framed as crucial for social sustainability, intergenerational encounters remain largely absent from municipal policies and strategic documents. This political absence renders these initiatives short-term and lacking long-term strategies.

– Municipalities express ambitions to promote age integration, but without structural support and political recognition, intergenerational encounters remain an invisible practice. Their knowledge potential is disregarded rather than cultivated as a resource for society, says Davet.

The Need for a New Perspective
For intergenerational encounters to be firmly established within urban and social planning, a shift in perspective is required—one that moves beyond economic rationales. Davet argues that a more inclusive understanding of age is needed, where intergenerational encounters are recognized as integral to education and social sustainability.

– We need to critically examine how time, space, and relationships between generations are organized. If intergenerational encounters are restricted to specific, time-limited formats, we risk losing their full potential, she concludes.

The thesis highlights the ambivalent status of municipally arranged intergenerational encounters. While they are presented as vital for the future of society, their absence in policy structures and the lack of practical implementation suggest they remain undervalued and largely unrecognized as a societal resource.