1. Introduction
2. Project
3. What is the idea?
4. Download
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1. Introduction
GLOBAL GENERATION - LIFE CONCEPTS AND EXCHANGE OF THE YOUNGER GENERATION
GLOBAL COMMUNITY – MATSUYAMA (JAPAN), MADISON(USA),
ISFAHAN(IRAN), FREIBURG(GERMANY)
The younger generation – birth rates from 1980 until today - needs to understand the subsistence in a totally different way than the previous generations of their parents.
Especially with the worldwide introduction of the internet as a media into the everyday life of younger people has fundamentally changed their attitude towards the life-world.
The world has become smaller and one speaks of the “global village”. This especially applies to the younger generation.
Specifically, this can be seen by the use of Internet that serves as the primary source for decision processes and communication device. This medium allows the establishing of new social networks that affect the (real) life concept. The term “life concept” implies the goals, wishes, fantasies, ideas and concerns the young individual may have about his/her life and that affects the conception of ones life after a special guideline. This project aims to find out, how the younger generation imagines their life and how it is compatible with the reality. On the one hand this will be carried out by subjective perspectives and on the other hand by shown social tendencies. Individual experiences and handling as well as circumstancthe two components which shape a life concept.
The main focus of the project is the phase of life, in which the major themes such as jobs, starting an independent family, experience abroad, communication or religion (spirituality) seriously enter the consciousness. A constant searching behaviour and the effort to gain social hold whilst not wanting to miss any chances in life are characteristic for the youth until the third decade of life. What’s behind all this? What life concept is concealed behind this behaviour and how can one give a form to this?
2. Project
After the second world war Freiburg has understood its location as opportunal and created a wide spread network of twin cities. Freiburg stays internationally in contact with altogether nine cities from Besancon (France) to Madison (USA) and Matsuyama (Japan). This circumstance and considering the high number of young people in Freiburg offers an excellent starting basis. The result of the project will be an exhibition, a webpage and a catalogue. The venue of the exhibition will be a fictive apartment-sharing community. This community will symbolize the concrete life concepts as well as a space the cultures.
The theme “life concept” is the first, general part of the project. The second emphasis treats the intercultural exchange of the younger generation. How does the younger generation deal with other cultures, especially with the younger ones of these other
cultures? How do they react to and interact with each other?
The project tries a double bridging. The intention is to allow more understanding and exchange between generations on the one hand and the different cultures on the other hand. In times of globalized economical processes and problem relations, the mutual understanding between cultures and generations connotes a requirement for peaceful interaction. Every generation carries on the cultural knowledge of previous generations and contributes to the advancement of the culture towards a furtherdevelopment.
The approach of this topic serves not only the younger people themselves in terms of self reflection and motivation, but also offers interesting criteria for many social relevant areas like politics, education and economy as well as older generations for a better understanding of the global generation.
3. Idea
The project “Global Generation” analyses, illustrates and witnesses the life concepts of the younger generation in different cultural circles; Freiburg (Germany), Matsuyama (Japan), Isfahan (Iran) and Madison (USA).
The results of the study will be worked out by several sub-projects and opened to the public via an exhibition, a webpage and a catalogue. The following questions form the frame for the approach of the topic:
I. What are the main challenges that the younger generation are facing?
What current streams in society, changes, trends are the younger generation confronted with and what influence do those have concerning their goals, dreamsassociations/ideas – their life concepts?
>> Sub-Project I
II. What kind of (prejudiced) opinions do the youngergeneration have concerning other cultures?
What do they think about intercultural exchange?
>> >> Sub-project II
III. What happens to the (preconceived) ideas when encountering other cultures? How does the younger being react to other cultural encounters?
>> Sub-project III
For illustration and a differentiated approach with the topic the project team makes use of the following three components:
a. social component – Integration work with children
and youngsters of social disadvantaged families
b. artistic component – Support from younger people
by creative and informative approach towards the
subject, Support of uprofessional artists
c. academics component – Collaboration with
university students and lecturers from the
humanities such as sociology, ethnology,
philosophy, psychology and cultural science etc.
4. Download
.
Download Global Generation Concept
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