This is a really delicate situation regarding how to approach this sensitive topic. While I understand your intention is to promote innovative thinking, excluding older employees could be seen as discriminatory or disregarding their value. Here is a suggested approach to addressing this situation: 1. **Acknowledge their value**: First, affirm the importance of older employees to the organization and their valuable contributions. Let them know that their experience and expertise are appreciated. 2. **Explain the purpose of the meeting**: Explain the purpose and objectives of the meeting in a clear and honest way. Emphasize that the focus of this event is to promote the ideas and creativity of younger employees, but this does not mean that the experience and insights of older employees are not valued. 3. **Use positive language**: Avoid using language that implies that older employees are too traditional or unenlightened. Instead, focus on the unique energy, creativity, and fresh perspectives that younger employees bring. 4. **Provide alternative opportunities**: Consider offering older employees the opportunity to attend other conferences, workshops, or training programs that can leverage their experience and expertise. This way, you can show that you value their contributions and want to involve them in different contexts. 5. **Encourage feedback and contributions**: Let older employees know that their insights and opinions are still very valuable to the organization. Encourage them to provide feedback on the meeting agenda, potential topics, or future events. Sample script: "[Employee name], I appreciate your interest in this meeting and thank you for your valuable contributions to our organization over the years. I want to explain the purpose of this event: it is focused on providing a platform for our younger employees to share creative ideas and thoughts and learn from each other's energy and perspectives. It's not that we don't value the experience and insights of our more experienced employees, but we want to create a unique opportunity for these younger employees to step up and shine in a more youthful and dynamic environment. We believe this event will lead to some exciting ideas and opportunities for collaboration, and we look forward to hearing about their outcomes. In the meantime, we are exploring other events and initiatives that will better leverage the expertise of you and other more experienced colleagues. If you are interested in participating with us in a different format and providing feedback or suggestions for our future events in the future, we would very much welcome it." By doing this, you can show that you value the innovation of young people without alienating or offending older employees by excluding them.