I was born in May 68 and have heard for ages about the May 68 generation and legacy. Then I joined the cohort of the 1989 generation celebrating the bicentennial of the French Revolution in July and the fall of the Berlin Wall in November. The “end of history” generation?
What will young people remember of 2020? Will we rename generation Z Generation C for Covid?
Few months ago they were the happy digital natives heading into an ok economy with low or diminishin unemployment? Their social conscience was supporting climate and #sdg commitments. They were both idealist and realist.
And suddenly! The war against poverty is retreating retreat with a potential plunge of 500M people in poverty as per Oxfam. Public coffers are depleted. Unemployment and bankruptcies reach records levels. Short terms small jobs are gone and so are most internships. The beginning of their professional life will suffer. Former generations coming of age in recession saw depressed wages and career growth.
Longer term will they be more committed? Or will they lose illusions?
Early to say. Generation 1968 or 1989 were vibrant ... What will generation Z/C bring home after 2020? Still time to work on a positive memory. And show we can exit high not low. Better start working now.
