Generational Dialogue in Aswan
A golden opportunity for children and parents to communicate without pressure
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At a house of culture in West of Aswan, Neamat, a mother in her forties, stood in a soft argument with her children. It was an extraordinary experience that their village community is witnessing for the first time: a genuine dialogue between generations.
This was perhaps the first time for Neamat to watch her children speak so freely, and it is one of the rare occasions that Upper Egypt society has witnessed an experience that encourages open dialogue between generations. Because of its conservative nature, which gives great weight to the authority of parents in controlling the choices and shape of their children's lives, this was truly something new.
The generational dialogue sessions are one of UNICEF's child protection programs which aim to create a safe dialogue space between parents and their children on different topics.
In these sessions, the facilitators create games and activities aimed at encouraging children to speak freely in front of their parents, discuss their problems without fear and try to find solutions together. In this session, the conversation was about the problem of Nemat's excessive fear for her son of his frequent swimming in the Nile without her knowledge.
Among the topics of focus of the generational dialogue are issues of violence against children, such as beatings, psychological violence, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and child marriage.
These sessions take place in cooperation between UNICEF and partner associations such as the Assiut Association for Childhood and Development. They are within the framework of the joint international programme between UNICEF and UNFPA to eliminate FGM.
