When we first began planning the CoGen Voices Fellowship, we knew we'd face a few challenges. The group of 21 community changemakers was intentionally diverse — by age (15 to 81!), race, location, work, experience, and more. We'd have to meet many different needs and...
At CoGenerate, we believe in the power of cogeneration: a strategy to bring older and younger people together to forge bonds across differences, combat polarization and ageism, and help solve today’s toughest problems. If you’re involved or interested in cogeneration,...
https://youtu.be/OedAsZVTm9U?si=q20TIH8zuwPEhE0a Today in the US, more than 2.4 million children whose parents are unable to care for them live in grandfamilies, where they are raised by grandparents or other loved ones. Until recently, their experiences have been all...
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...
Why do you do the civic or community work that you do?
Years ago, I landed upon a question that has guided me through life (work & otherwise): What is a life well lived? My work as a filmmaker and co-director of ROCK of Ages, an intergenerational storytelling initiative at Florida Gulf Coast University, is my answer to that question.
How is cogeneration helping (or how will it help) you succeed?
How could anyone be successful without giving care and consideration to people across the entire lifespan? Any definition of success that excludes any group of people is a failure of imagination, perspective, or compassion (or all of the above).
Got one tip to help other civic leaders collaborate more effectively with older or younger people?
Share your personal stories. Offer your vulnerability at the risk of being hurt and the reward of being held.
What’s something giving you joy or hope right now?
Planting and tending to my garden and greenscape, which has been the literal manifestation of the ethos I’ve tapped into lately. I’m tending to my own little patch upon this earth, and giving my love and care to all living things within my sphere. It feels like the most constructive act of resistance in these absurd and toxic times.