YOUTH 2020 - The position of young people in Slovenia

266 7.3.1 YOUNG PEOPLE’S ATTITUDES TO THE AGEING POPULATION In modern society, both the young and the old are subject to negative stereotypes and prejudices related to their age, which is also largely due to the lack of contact between generations and institutionalised transi- tions between different age groups. The changing numerical ratios be- tween population groups and, consequently, their social power, are chal- lenges of which EU institutions are also aware, having long been aware of the consequences of demographic change, such as the increase in life expectancy and the number of people over 60 in the working age popu- lation, the low birth rate, and the associated decline in the number of young people, etc. In order for countries that face such changes to be able to maintain and strengthen intergenerational cooperation in an appro- priate way, their public policies need to be systematically adapted in the light of these changes (EC, 2005). As young people are numerically weaker and less willing to participate in institutional politics (e.g. voting in elections, campaigning for politi- cal positions, taking part in political party activities, etc.), it is necessary to create mechanisms that are attractive to them, through which their voices can be heard and taken into account, while at the same time strengthening mechanisms that allow direct contact between members of different age groups. The year 2020 caused an additional challenge to intergenerational contact and cooperation between the younger and older generations due to the risk of transmitting Covid-19 (Thang and Engel, 2020), as limiting physical contact – one of the primary ways of overcoming the challenges of intergenerational dialogue – is at the heart of public policies to combat the disease. It is even more important in this context to know the situation and the beliefs that young people have in relation to an ageing society and their role in it. It should be emphasized that the research findings of Mladina 2010 already showed that the situation in this area is not very optimistic. If we look at young people’s perceptions of the growing number of older people and the decliningnumber of youngpeople (see Figure 2.9), youngpeople’s concern is