Pathway To A Generation: AARP'S 2011 Council
To date, no generation has had as significant an impact upon society as the "Baby Boomer" generation, born in the dynamic post World War II years (1946-1964). Whether it is music, which they transformed, family and work patterns, films, or religion and politics, this generation has had an enormous influence on the social and political fabric of our culture and society.
The 2011 Council is a unique blend of politically, academically, socially and culturally diverse individuals who have placed their imprint upon the American fabric and the Baby Boomer generation. Professors, writers, artists, journalists, thinkers and entertainers are all candidates for the Council. The political spectrum is represented, from liberal to conservative, and divergent points of view are a key consideration in Council recruitment.
The Council was launched in 2002 and will remain in existence through 2011. 2011 will mark the date when the first of this generation will reach the age of 65. For the next 20 years Baby Boomers and all of society will be faced with an entirely new world filled with a variety of challenges and options that they will have to exercise. At the same time, all of our institutions and public policies will have to undergo changes of their own to meet the needs of Boomers.
The Council's mission is to think through the challenges and suggest ways in which AARP might assist boomers and those who will serve them in preparing for the future. The Council will address matters of public policy, culture, arts and the humanities.
The formal public meeting of the Council is held each fall in connection with AARP's National Event. Council members who have participated in previous National Events include: Phil Bronstein (San Francisco Chronicle), Mona Lisa Yuchencgo (Filipinas Magazine), Carl Bernstein (journalist), Billy Baldwin (actor), Leo Estrada (Law Professor), Erica Jong (writer), Anita Hill (Professor), William Strauss (writer), Todd Gitlin (University Professor), Alan Zweibel (Golden Globe Winner), Mary Matalin (Political Strategist), Juan Williams (NPR), Amy Dickenson (Chicago Tribune).
At AARP's 2004 National Event, the Council will meet on Friday, October 15, at 9:30 AM, and will include: Cybill Shepherd (actress and political activist), Donna Brazile (Chair of the Democratic National Committee's Voting Rights Institute), Steven M. Gillon (Resident Historian, The History Channel) and Christopher Buckley (best-selling social and political satirist and editor of "Forbes FYI").
