Intergenerational Solidarity

The European Union recognises the importance of the active citizenship of seniors. It promotes, not as of today, policies that concretely enhance their social and cultural contribution. In this framework, Italy, the country with the highest number of Seniors in Europe, has a unique historical opportunity to establish itself as a model of intergenerational lifestyle.

The transmission of memory and the enhancement of our tradition, integrated with new technologies, are functional tools in this natural dynamic, which affects us directly, in the first person. We are in fact in March. An important month for the European Union. Just remember the Treaties of Rome of 25 March 1957. It is no coincidence that March is the month in which we awaken to a new beginning.

The name of the month derives from Martius, whose etymological roots are linked to the Etruscan culture, linked to the god Maris, whose characteristics we find in the Roman Mars. A month, therefore, of rebirth and transitions, involving our memory and cultural heritage, which has characterised us for centuries.

The theme of memory and the role of senility, in contemporary society, takes on a central importance in our time, particularly in the project History Is Us!, aimed at encouraging the silver generation to recount their experience, through digital tools such as video. Technology thus becomes a useful bridge to connect past and future, between those who have lived and those who have yet to understand the value of their own history. This is also the approach of the European Union's Integrational Equity initiative.

Seniors between experience and prudence

To understand what the European Union is going to do, also for seniors, it is good to follow the development of what will be the Budget 2025. It is about knowing how to orient ourselves in the future, yes, but aware of what we have been. To understand us better. On 15 March 44 B.C., exactly on the Ides of thousands of years ago, one of the most dramatic moments in our history took place, which we cannot fail to remember. The assassination of Julius Caesar. An event that, although driven by political motivations, also brings with it the theme of generational tension. Caesar, a mature, experienced man, a recognised leader, is overthrown by those who feared his power, among them also those who were very close to him and verbally loyal. History, handed down through texts, documents and interpretations, survives thanks to the shared and collective memory of those dramatic events, which took place in places, where even today, in Rome, near the excavations of Largo Argentina, the full extent of that tragedy, which forever marked the destiny of our civilisation, can be perceived.

The old wise man says that not all evil comes to harm, in fact, of Julius Caesar, here, we recall, his Commentarii de Bello Civili, because it offers us a multiplicity of reflections on senility, from a man who did not reach sixty. This is not a eulogy of old age, as we have seen in Cicero, in the article on this blog Senior Self Determined, but rather a practical vision of adulthood, in a social context of close confrontation, in which choices have to be made. In Book I, 4, we read that:

A large part of the Senate, being of advanced age, tended to favour Pompey.

Here we show how advanced age often leads to a conservative position, rooted in experience and prudence. But if experience is a guide, history shows that the risk of crystallisation in ideas is always present. In another passage, Book I, 32, reference is made to the older centurions:

In that legion, there were very brave centurions, now elderly, who no longer thought so much about military matters as about their own salvation.

This shows us how old age can lead to a different priority in life. The battle, yes, is there, but more than anything else there is also the will to protect one's own life and memory.

The sharing of experience

Senility, then, is not synonymous with decline, but a phase in which personal and collective history take on a new, pleasantly unexpected value. This is demonstrated by Caesar's teaching, which ties in perfectly with our times. Mature people possess a wealth of experience that, if not shared, risks being lost forever. What can we do?

The answer is to make the most of technology, which offers us an innovative solution. The project History Is Us!, was created with the aim of providing practical tools for seniors to tell and preserve their memories, especially through video. The new generations, immersed in the digital world, can access authentic testimonies. Thus, the dialogue between past and future is truly created today.

The privileged connection tool

If history was once handed down orally or through images and texts, today, video represents the most powerful medium for capturing stories, emotions and details, of individuals, that would otherwise be lost. Through a dedicated training course, going beyond simple digital literacy, the project History Is Us!, aims to make seniors understand, practically:

How to record a video: from using a smartphone to lighting and framing techniques.

How to tell your story: storytelling techniques to make the story engaging.

How to share videos online: from using platforms such as YouTube and Instagram to privacy and managing comments.

The season of rebirth

Without dwelling on astrological and astronomical matters, for now, it is more than enough here to consider that, the month of March, with its etymology linked to the Etruscan Maris, the divinity of renewal, certainly not painless, is perfect for reflecting on the value of memory. If first the Etruscans and then the Romans, believed in a March favourable to the resumption of activities, we, here today, can reinterpret it as the month of the fight against oblivion. Just as Caesar realised that the experience of senility has a substantial weight in society, today we can give new dignity to the memory of the older generations, thanks to instruments that preserve their story over time.

Active Citizenship of Seniors

The project History Is Us!, fits perfectly into the perspective, not only of preserving our cultural heritage, but of enabling seniors to be active protagonists in the digital society. Creating video content, recounting experiences and dialoguing with the new generations, becomes a way to strengthen the social fabric and build a safe bridge between the past and the future, to ensure wellbeing and prosperity starting from our territory.

The Ides of March, in their tragic nature, remind us that history is made of baton changes and conflicts between generations, but also of continuity and indissoluble connections. If knowledge was once officially handed down in forums and temples, today, with digital technology, it is possible for anyone who has the will to do so, to leave a trace of it all along the path that history has taken so far. La Storia Siamo Noi! then is not just a project, but a real mission, to ensure that the past is not forgotten.

Italy, with its wealth of culture and traditions, today has the task of showing, at the forefront, once again, that memory is not just an inheritance taken for granted. It is in fact a resource, all to be lived and shared, with pride, with the new generations. They will then know how to treasure it, of their own free will. We, meanwhile, are convinced that, without memory, there is no identity and, without identity, there is no future.

So, if you too want to be a protagonist, now, in this season of rebirth, write to info@historyisus.eu to donate your contribution, today, for an authentic intergenerational solidarity.