Where were you when … ?

I was at a youth camp in a cozy little mountain campsite. The morning was cold, I remember, and as I sloped into the kitchen where the team were preparing breakfast, I was told that Princess Diana was dead. There was sense of disbelief. Except for that mind numbing piece of information, that youth camp may have slipped from memory forever. But the mist hovering mid tree height across the dull brown grass lawns, even the sound of the small stream that ran past the bottom of the camp – all these things are indelibly imprinted on my mind. Because that’s where I was when Diana died. It was 10 years ago exactly today!

There are moments like this that occur every few years. Because of global media coverage, the last 50 years have increasingly provided globally shared moments. These would include (in reverse order):

• 9/11 and the fall of the Twin Towers
• The release of Nelson Mandela
• The Fall of the Berlin Wall
• The assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr
• The death of John F Kennedy
• VE day

Generational theory says that moments like this become iconic for all people, but they are values shaping for the youngest members of society. It is these global events that have shaped people around the world over the past century. For more on generational theory, see “Mind the Gap“.

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