Thursday, May 31, 2012

Long Live The Queen!

Queen Yellow NASA 2007 FinalQueen Elizabeth II and about one million of her closest friends will celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in London this weekend. Her Majesty, at 86 years young, is the longest-lived British monarch and only the second to enjoy 60 years of rule.

To a younger generation like my own, Queen Elizabeth is likely best known as Prince William’s and Harry’s grandma. Just this week, Prince William gave tribute to her Diamond Jubilee by revealing his favorite photograph of the two of them together.

And this grandmother knows how to throw a party—a derby, a pageant, beacons, and a concert featuring Elton John and Paul McCartney all will be squeezed into the much-anticipated Diamond Jubilee in the upcoming days.

Beyond her Corgi collection and fanciful hats, Generations United has other reasons to admire Queen Elizabeth: her intergenerational advocacy. During the Queen’s annual Christmas Broadcast in 2006, she focused on building greater understanding between generations. “As children grow up and develop their own sense of confidence and independence in the ever changing technological environment, there is always the danger of a real divide opening up between young and old, based on unfamiliarity, ignorance and misunderstanding.”

Her Majesty calls for bridging the generation gap noting, “the opportunities to look for new ways to bring young and old together are multiplying.” We couldn’t agree more.

For more information on building intergenerational connections, visit our partner across the pond, the Centre for Intergenerational Practice, and browse Generation’s United work stateside.

Photo courtesy of NASA.

- Written by Erica Jorde. Erica is a Masters in Social Work student from the University of Michigan and an intern for Generations United this summer.

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