The Atlantic’s recent article, The New Old Age, marks a milestone for CoGenerate (formerly Encore.org), an indication of the uptake of ideas and language we’d been working to develop, implement and disseminate for more than a decade. Written by David Brooks,...
A new documentary film, Ink & Linda, chronicles the unexpected friendship between Inksap, a Vietnamese-American street artist in his 20s, and Linda, a white modern dance teacher in her 70s. Shortly after a chance encounter brings these two together, they begin...
We’re out to show the world that older and younger people can help solve pressing problems when they work together. To that end, today we’re launching the CoGen Challenge to Advance Economic Opportunity, a partnership with the Ares Charitable Foundation to elevate...
Sages & Seekers is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that matches high schoolers with elders to combat ageism and social isolation through meaningful conversation. Its founder, Elly Katz, is a CoGenerate Innovation Fellow. A recent Sages & Seekers newsletter...
On May 22, more than 1,100 people registered to learn more about the important cogenerational work our 2023 Innovation Fellows are doing. These 15 leaders are bringing generations together to solve problems and bridge divides. And each one has a unique and inspiring approach.
We kicked things off with Joseph Lam of Parents Are Human, who got the chat buzzing as attendees responded to one of his conversation cards asking them to recall a favorite childhood food.
Then we dove into group conversations, where two to four Fellows came together to discuss their intergenerational approaches to early childhood education, making activism and leadership sustainable for people of color, strengthening the connective tissue within local communities, improving mental health, getting more young people to vote, and using storytelling to increase engagement in climate change interventions.
We wrapped things up with a spoken word poem by Jon Adam Ross of the In[HEIR]itance Project, who pulled together key themes that surfaced during the event and left us with a sense of appreciation and awe.
If you missed the Innovation Showcase and want to watch the full event, we’ve got you covered. Click the play button below and you can stream an edited version.
With so much division and disagreement in our country, bringing generations together to solve problems and bridge divides has never been more important. But doing this work is difficult.
If you attended the event or watched the recording and are left feeling inspired to reach out to any of the Fellows – to offer ideas, connections that may be beneficial, offers to volunteer or make a donation – please do! You can find each one of their email addresses here. Just scroll down to the “Meet our fellows” section.
A big thank you to all the Fellows who made the event such a success. And to my co-host, Harriette Cole, who brings incredible warmth and power to everything she does.
I’ll leave you with some quotes from the Showcase, and I hope to see you at our next virtual event!
