S3-EP15: Encore’s Marci Alboher & Aanchal Dhar on Intergenerational Collaboration and Why It’s Important Right Now

Feb 12, 2021

SUMMARY

Debbie talks with Encore’s Marci Alboher and Aanchal Dhar about intergenerational collaboration and how it can address some of the biggest issues this country is facing right now.

 

EPISODE NOTES

Today, Debbie Weil talks to Encore.org‘s Marci Alboher and Aanchal Dhar about intergenerational collaboration: how it works for them as a GenX and Millennial pair and how connecting different ages can address some of the biggest issues this country is facing right now, from pandemic loneliness to the political divide to the climate crisis.

Marci, Encore’s Vice President of Narrative Change, is 54. Aanchal, Encore’s Communications Strategist for Programs, is 39. The two have been collaborating for seven years in their work for this well-known nonprofit, which is partially responsible for the midlife reinvention movement.

Encore originally focussed on the second half of life.  More recently the group has turned to a focus on bridging divides and connecting generations to create a better future. That’s a big goal. Encore calls it a movement. So Debbie asks Marci and Aanchal, in turn, why it’s so important to bridge the demographic divide in the workplace, in communities, in our personal lives. The answer: connecting different ages, races, and genders creates value. Younger people bring a fresh perspective, seeing things for the first time. Older people have lived through crises and challenges (the unrest of the 60s, for example) and they bring a different lived experience. Together they can solve big problems.

They also talk about “perennials,” a term Debbie loves. It means people with a mindset of being hungry and curious and always wanting to learn regardless of age or generation. Curiosity is key to conversations with those who are different from you. And they talk about civic community, what that means, and why the virtual program Aanchal started has been so important during the pandemic.

Be sure to check out the links to articles Marci and Aanchal have written, as well as to Encore’s many resources and programs.

 

USEFUL LINKS

 

Partial List of Encore’s Programs and Resources:

 

Mentioned:

 

Note from Debbie

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– Debbie

 

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Thanks to our media partners

Encore.org, our newest media partner, is an ideas and innovation hub tapping the talent of those 50+ as a force for good. Founder and CEO Marc Freedman is an award-winning social entrepreneur and author, most recently, of How to Live Forever: The Enduring Power of Connecting the Generations. Looking for a great gap-year transition program? Check out Encore Fellowships, which match skilled, seasoned professionals with social-sector organizations in high-impact, paid assignments.

 

Modern Elder Academy is a program dedicated to navigating mid-life transitions. MEA, based in Baja California, Mexico, provides the place and the tools to start reframing your lifetime of experience. Grow whole, not old. Founder Chip Conley is a New York Times bestselling author, award-winning hospitality entrepreneur and a rock star of the mid-life transition movement. His newest book is Wisdom @ Work: the Making of a Modern Elder.

 

Next For Me is an important new resource for the 50+ crowd focused on rewriting life. Taking a gap year or timeout may be the best way to figure out "what's next" when you're in this stage of life. Founder Jeff Tidwell explains, Next For Me "connects and inspires our generation to evolve our post-50 lives through new work, a new purpose, or a new social contribution."