Gen Y

I spent last Saturday with 30 Gen Ys in Berlin. It made me both feel old and think again about all those demographic changes which everyone seems to be talking about. They are beautifully summarized in the video Did You Know?

These are some of the most creative people I have ever met and have the hallmarks of the Gen Y culture: flexibility and ability to change. They are art students at Berlin’s Universität der Künste (UdK), a hot spot of creativity. I am especially fond of the work of UdK graduate Yang Liu on cultural differences between Germany and China.

My role is to run a workshop on intercultural communication management. Instead of having a traditional exam, the students produce films and games on intercultural topics; the results are stunning.

By the way, Gen Y or Generation Y is the section of the population born between the late 1970s and 2000. They are otherwise known as Millennials or the iPod Generation. Research published last week shows that, although they are shaped by the unprecedented pace of technological change — which makes them resist traditional boundaries — and they don’t have a job for life, there are surprising similarities with my generation, the over-50 baby boomers.

Apparently, we are all looking for a "remixed set of rewards", not just financial compensation. Maybe that’s why I enjoy teaching in Berlin.