Empathy as the Gateway to Better Intergeneration Relationship
Empathy is at the heart of design thinking. Through empathy, we are able to put ourselves in other people's shoes and connect with how they feel about their problems or circumstances.
IDK once again partnered with Design Spectrum to organise a design thinking workshop “A Tale of Two Generations Interactive Theatre”, as one of the programme in the “Brand New Youth” Exhibition. Co-designed with Eldpathy, this workshop is an interactive journey for young participants and their families to experience a variety of elderly needs, focusing on empathy as the basis for facilitating intergenerational communication.
In the interactive theatre, audiences were immersed into daily scenarios of young and old, which illustrated the daily hardships faced by the two generations. Through co-creating alternative endings, the audience was prompted to rethink and possibly improve their daily interactions with elderlies. Participants also gained a deeper understanding of elderlies' daily struggles by experiencing their physical challenges using elderly simulation suits. This journey inspired participants to overcome the communication barriers between generations, and subsequently develop empathy, patience, and respect for the elderly.
