We’re living in the most age-diverse time in human history, with the same number of people who are 7, 17 and 70. At the same time, we’re also the most age-segregated. Our institutions, infrastructure and policies are literally designed to keep generations apart.
That’s brought on a host of problems: social isolation and loneliness, ageism, generational finger-pointing, and a sense that we just don’t have anything in common–all during a time when we’re facing societal problems that are too big for any one generation to solve alone.
It’s why I’m obsessed with all things intergenerational–and more specifically, cogenerational. What our society needs now more than anything, is the “co” (Latin for “with”). Things like collaboration, connection, and community. You can’t have a “with” life without curiosity about the other person–the kind of curiosity that makes you lean in and want to know more.
Because every older person was once young, and every young person will get older, I believe cogeneration can actually be a short bridge to connecting across differences. Ever-changing but also connected over time, age naturally invites curiosity.
Anybody who’s further along in life knows something that might be helpful to me, and I know something that might be helpful to the person who’s coming up behind me. Our combined perspectives, skillsets, and networks are exactly what’s needed in this moment.
I found my way into intergenerational work in my twenties when I ran a program that brought teams of older volunteers into public schools to tutor and mentor kids. All of a sudden, I found myself surrounded by not just one or two elders, but hundreds of them. My oldest volunteer, Mr. Shapiro, was 97. These elders became like surrogate grandmas and grandpas to me, my young staff, and thousands of kids. And we helped the older adults stay connected to community and purpose.
As a 25-year-old, I got really curious about this mysterious thing called “aging,” something many of my peers seemed to fear at best, and loathe at worst. For sure, they were doing their best to avoid it.
I was blessed with a different path: I got a front row seat to the realities of aging–health challenges, financial anxiety, grief, and loss, to be sure. But I also saw hundreds of older adults making amazing, lasting contributions in their later years, often in partnership with young people. It showed me that purpose and meaning are lifelong pursuits, and that my best years of contribution could still be ahead.
Fast forward. I’m turning 50 this year, and unlike my age-peers, I’ve been waiting almost 30 years for this moment! I like to think of myself as an elder-in-training. The spaces I love most are cogenerational, where we come as we are, with all our curiosities about one another, and find that what–and who–we are, the age we are, the life experiences we’ve had, are exactly what’s needed. By leaning into the beauty of interdependence, we become extended family to one another.
Best of all, when I connect across generations and tap into the perspective of people much younger and older than I am, my learning horizon expands, my capacity for care and concern beyond myself expands. That feels like the bullseye of curiosity.
Eunice Lin Nichols ’97 is Co-CEO of CoGenerate, a national nonprofit bridging generational divides to co-create a better future. She has spent more than two decades turning intergenerational connection into a force for social change, including leading The Purpose Prize (now a program of AARP), launching Experience Corps (now a program of AARP Foundation) in the San Francisco Bay Area, and sparking cogenerational innovation in higher education, youth civics, service and volunteerism, faith communities, and more. Eunice was named to the Eames Institute Curious 100, recognized as a Next Avenue Influencer in Aging, and received the James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award for advancing innovative and effective solutions to California’s most significant issues. The original version of this commentary appeared on the CoGenerate website.