Friendships are finally getting their due. Once relegated to a distant third position after life partners and children, a spate of new books are spotlighting the importance of friends. And research shows that people with close friends are healthier – both emotionally...
Purpose Prize
The Latest from CoGenerate
An Intergenerational Approach to Getting Families Housed in Santa Barbara
Lyiam Galo is the co-director of Generations United for Service, a program of the Northern Santa Barbara County United Way and one of 10 awardees of the CoGen Challenge to Advance Economic Opportunity. Watch for interviews with all 10 of these innovators bringing...
Utilizing Faith-Owned Land to Strengthen Intergenerational Community in Seattle
E.N. West is the co-founder and lead organizer of the Faith Land Initiative of the Church Council of Greater Seattle, one of 10 awardees of the CoGen Challenge to Advance Economic Opportunity. Watch for interviews with all 10 of these innovators bringing older and...
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Dale Bell and Harry Wiland
Purpose Prize Fellow 2007
Using public television to provoke civil discourse and community engagement.
With nearly five decades in visual and performance media, Dale Bell had earned an Academy Award (Woodstock), two Emmy’s, and a Peabody. His longtime colleague, Harry Wiland, had an Emmy-award winning career as a television producer/director and a reputation as a new media innovator in the field of educational courseware. In 1999, the two joined forces to create “media that matters” for Public Broadcasting. In 2003, the two created The Media & Policy Center Foundation with the goal of leveraging media to provoke civil discourse and community engagement, while providing essential media and community action tools to encourage grassroots activism. They did this by creating a media model that not only included a PBS special broadcast but included companion books, action guides, a series of televised town hall meetings and academic symposia. All of which was keyed to an extensive community-based and educational outreach campaign. The initial PBS broadcast acted as the rock in the water, the complimentary media and outreach campaign continued the impact for years after the broadcast, turning it into a public policy initiative. Their first project, “And Thou Shalt Honor,” designed to help people prepare for the economic, emotional, and psychological complexities of family caregiving, aired on PBS in October 2002, was seen by more than 16 million viewers. Today the two are working on “Edens Lost & Found,” a multi-part PBS series highlighting practical solutions to improve the environment and quality of life in cities. The centerpiece of a multimedia program and outreach initiative, this special broadcast will showcase extraordinary community activists as well as forward-thinking professionals who are offering best practice solutions to transform their urban environments. In 2006 the two were honored as the only media professionals to become Ashoka Fellows.