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?
As a young person, I have found divisive, polarized politics to be the norm for the majority of my lifetime. But it doesn’t have to be this way. The only way to create real, lasting change is to reach past those divides – be they political, generational, or otherwise.
How is cogeneration helping (or how will it help) you succeed?
Polarization thrives on the fiction that our differences are irreconcilable, and the “generational conflict” frame is one iteration of that fiction. Older and younger Americans have more in common than we are different, and our movements are stronger when we work together, united by our commonalities.
Got one tip to help other civic leaders collaborate more effectively with older or younger people?
Take the time to listen to and understand why (many) young people are disillusioned with the institutions around us. Then work alongside us to make those institutions work for everyone.
What’s something giving you joy or hope right now?
I moved back to New York this year, and it’s been a real joy spending more time with my parents and getting involved with the city’s tabletop roleplaying game scene (e.g., Dungeons & Dragons).