Ernie, 80 and Cedar, 13, show off the rocks they decorated with symbols based on their conversation.Last month, I traveled to Chautauqua, a 150-year-old institute in western New York that brings thousands of people together for summer programs focused on lifelong...
As colleagues from different generations (X and millennial), Marci Alboher and Duncan Magidson have been leading talks and workshops sharing their insights about working across generations. As they plan, they often text furiously, sharing ideas and reflections. In...
The 21 civic leaders taking part in CoGenerate’s Voices fellowship are a diverse group. They range in age from 15 to 81, and each focuses on a different aspect of civic work. But they’re all well-versed in the ins and outs of effective intergenerational collaboration....
https://youtu.be/DMmhqffPUWc As we celebrate our nation’s 250th anniversary, we are the most age-diverse society in human history — and the most age-segregated. Our next chapter will depend on our ability to work across generations.In commemoration of the United...
Why do you do the civic or community work that you do?
I am a high schooler, and over the past few years, I have been working in my community — supporting the community theater, co-running civic advocacy and awareness programs, and protesting— because I have been raised to see that the future of everyone is interconnected. When my community struggles, I struggle as well. Over the last few years, my community has been suffering, with more people moving away, higher living expenses, and more part timers with houses here, which impacts the quality of my education and my home life. While community and advocacy work can’t fully fix that, it can share some of the burden. By doing this, I would like to help make a good future for the community I live in and the wider world — better education and an easier time for everyone.
How is cogeneration helping (or how will it help) you succeed?
Cogeneration helps me look at and act upon the world in a different way — layers of experience on top of my own can help me be calm in times of political upheaval and chaos, and knowing history in a more personal way, either living through it or having been told history from a first-person perspective, can help find solutions to modern problems. Protesting the overturning of Roe v. Wade, for example, is easier because we know people that lived before and were impacted. Cogeneration also helps provide new voices. This year, at the Pride protest, I am running an advocacy table with people of several different ages. One of the hopes is that, by having a variety of ages, we can also bring a larger variety of perspectives, and perhaps be heard by more ears.
Got one tip to help other civic leaders collaborate more effectively with older or younger people?
Assume the best intent. If someone says something that seems rude or harmful, always calm down and ask for clarification before getting defensive. This is especially helpful when collaborating outside of your age group, because social norms and implications are often different, increasing the space for miscommunications.
What’s something giving you joy or hope right now?
Right now, my community and its intersection with physical activity is bringing me much joy. I have a really strong intergenerational community at and around the gym, which has created a powerful support system. In its funniest form, I lift with a group of women in their 40s through 70s, and these people have helped me gain perspective on myself, blessed as I am to be a teenage boy with a large capacity to gain muscle. They, along with my coach, also help me develop a kinder relationship with aging, food, and my body, as all the older women there especially are grateful they are able to get up, lift weights, and bounce around without much trouble. When I am able to do all of these things and more, their presence reminds me to bring joy and gratitude.