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The Latest from CoGenerate

Putting Two Things Together

Putting Two Things Together

On Friday, May 15, I had the great honor to address the 2026 graduates of Drew University, including the undergraduate College of Liberal Arts, the Theological School, and the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies. I'm very grateful to Drew's remarkable President...

Introducing the CoGen Voices Fellows

Introducing the CoGen Voices Fellows

Across the country, young people and older people are stepping up as civic leaders. But too often, they do this critical work with peers, in age-segregated spaces. Young people work without the benefit of older generations who bring lived experience, networks, and a...

Event Recording: Age Diversifying Your Board

Event Recording: Age Diversifying Your Board

Is your organization ready to tackle one of the toughest but most transformative shifts in intergenerational collaboration? In this session, you’ll hear from three leaders spearheading efforts to diversify board involvement. This will be a learning-in-public...

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Brian Julius and Zane Wilson

Books of Hope
Purpose Prize Fellow 2009

Julius and Wilson create Speaking Books that deliver health information to illiterate individuals about HIV, depression, and other health-related issues, emphasizing prevention.

Julius and Wilson create Speaking Books that deliver health information to illiterate individuals about HIV, depression, and other health-related issues, emphasizing prevention.Illiteracy can be a matter of life and death. Hundreds of millions of people worldwide can’t access basic health information – because they can’t read it – and have a higher risk for HIV, malaria, depression, and other health complications. The Speaking Book, created by Books of Hope founders Julius and Wilson, provides health information, particularly helpful in rural communities where there is no electricity, radio, TV, or Internet. Each book uses the latest sound chip technology; features a soundtrack read by local celebrities in the local language; and includes 16 pages of colorful illustrations matched with easy-to-understand text. Since the release of the first book in 2005, more than 200,000 books have been produced: 35 titles in 14 languages. The teen suicide book has been reprinted three times, and the HIV book has been reproduced five times in four languages. Julius and Wilson call themselves “serial entrepreneurs,” after starting numerous companies over the years. They say Books of Hope is their “most exciting venture.”