Reflections from the GA 2026 – Intergenerational Transition and the Future of Community

ByLena Herth

During a sharing circle taking place at the General Assembly 2026, a group of participants discussed intergenerational transition and the future of community.. The group created a text without confidential information, so the findings could be shared with the wider network.

Elaboration by: Sebastian (Tempelhof), Dominic (Glarisegg), Sonia (Glarisegg), Sade (GEN Finland), Ulrike (Siebenlinden), Gabriel (Siebenlinden), Leo (Heilhaus Gemeinschaft) and Capra (Damanhur)

GA 2026 – Photo taken by Maja Flajsig

The central question

How can an established community with a rich history and a strong founding vision become a place where new generations can genuinely live, participate, take responsibility and help shape the future?
This question goes beyond attracting younger people. It is about creating the conditions for real belonging and participation while honoring the experience, achievements and wisdom of those who have built and sustained the community over many years.

Five main barriers

1. Limited pathways into community life

New people may enter through work, volunteering, friendship or participation in activities, yet still find it difficult to understand how to become more deeply involved. A community can be open in principle while remaining difficult to enter in practice.

2. A gap between work, vision and communal life

People may work in community-related projects and strongly identify with their purpose without finding a clear pathway into the wider community and its vision. The relationship between working together, living together and carrying a shared vision needs to be made more visible and accessible.

3. Established structures can be difficult for newcomers to navigate

Long-standing communities naturally develop networks of relationships, informal knowledge, circles, traditions and ways of doing things. For newcomers, these structures may be hard to understand without clear orientation, personal relationships and active invitations to participate.

4. Exhaustion can make renewal difficult

Many long-term communities carry an enormous history of work, commitment and responsibility. When people are tired or overextended, even widely recognized needs for change can feel like one more burden. Generational transition therefore also requires attention to energy, recognition, joy and regeneration.

5. A new generation needs space to create, not only to inherit

Younger people may deeply value the history and wisdom of those who came before them. But to remain and take responsibility, they also need opportunities to experiment, make decisions, create new experiences and influence the future.
The challenge is to find a living balance between preserving what is essential and allowing something genuinely new to emerge.

Proposed next steps

  • Create regular spaces for intergenerational dialogue: Bring different generations into genuine conversation about their hopes, fears, experiences and visions for the future.
  • Create dedicated spaces for younger and newer people: Give them opportunities to meet, develop relationships, imagine possibilities and initiate projects together.
  • Develop a clear pathway for newcomers: Make it easier to understand how someone can move from first contact to deeper participation, responsibility and potentially membership.
  • Introduce mentoring or buddy relationships: Connect newcomers with experienced community members who can offer practical orientation, personal connection and mutual learning.
  • Strengthen the connection between work and community: Explore how people already working in community-related projects can encounter the wider history, values, spiritual foundations and communal life.
  • Preserve and share the wisdom of the founding generation: Record stories, experiences and lessons through interviews, conversations and documentation—not only to preserve the past, but to support the future.
  • Experiment with accessible entry points: Short-term volunteer programs, work camps, exchanges and temporary projects can offer people a first experience of community without requiring an immediate long-term commitment.
  • Learn from other communities: Seek exchange with communities that have already navigated generational transition and can share both successful practices and mistakes.
  • Make room for joy, celebration and informal connection: Community renewal is not only a structural process. Music, creativity, celebration, shared meals and informal encounters can be essential for rebuilding energy and belonging.
  • Treat generational transition as a long-term process: This is unlikely to be solved through one workshop or one working group. It may require sustained attention, resources and, where useful, external accompaniment over several years.

A closing reflection

A community does not remain alive simply by preserving what was created in the past. Nor does renewal require abandoning its history. The deeper task is to create a bridge: one that honors the people who built the community, carries forward the wisdom and purpose at its heart, and gives new generations enough trust and space to make the vision alive in their own way.

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