Making Connections: Part 3 of 3
This is a digital event. You should receive information in your ticket or from the host about how to join online.
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In this session of the Making Connections series, innovators share how their groundbreaking work is increasing togetherness and reducing loneliness. All are developing projects in “third places", a term coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg to describe locations outside of the home (the first place) and the workplace (the second place) where people go to connect.
After the first hour of discussion, we invite everyone into peer-led breakout sessions for shared reflection through guided prompts.
In a time of disorientation, division, and social distrust, we need new ideas to get connected to one another. The Making Connections series, hosted by Allison Gilbert and Reimagine, directly advances the urgent call to action from the 19th and 21st U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy in his Parting Prescription for America: the need to strengthen relationships is the most pressing challenge of our time.
Past recordings from Making Connections are available here.
Speakers
Dixon Chibanda, MD, is the author of The Friendship Bench. He is a professor of psychiatry at the University of Zimbabwe and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and director of the African Mental Health Research Initiative (AMARI). His “Why I Train Grandmothers to Treat Depression,” TEDx talk has been viewed over 3.2 million times and the Friendship Bench project he founded has been featured in major media like The PBS News Hour, New York Times, LA Times, BBC World Service, and more.
https://www.friendshipbench.org/
What do you get when you combine a TV producer with a volunteer who's worked in prisons, homeless shelters, crisis support services, and inspired 1000+ conversations through his Listening Table project, and built Warmline.org, which has connected over 233,592 visitors to vetted peer support lines. You get Orly Israel, a pioneer in combining accessible communication skills, mental health practices, and a growth mindset, and leadership training in a SOCIAL FITNESS PROGRAM. Orly teaches social/emotional skills to build authentic connections that withstand life's greatest challenges. His work explores the intersection of communication, empathy, and resilience, offering insights into how meaningful human connection serves as the foundation for both personal and community wellbeing. Through his programs, participants develop their own practical strategies to strengthen the social bonds essential for navigating our increasingly complex — and digital — world.
https://thelisteningtable.com/
Host
Allison Gilbert is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and one of the most influential writers and speakers on how to find the inner resources to overcome life’s biggest challenges. Through research and lived experience, Allison helps audiences transform grief and loss and find connection amid the growing public health crisis of social isolation and loneliness. She is co-author of Dr. Ruth Westheimer’s final book, The Joy of Connections: 100 Ways to Beat Loneliness and Live a Happier and More Meaningful Life. The book stems from the article Allison wrote for The New York Times, “Dr. Ruth Saved People’s Sex Lives. Now she wants to Cure Loneliness,” about Dr. Ruth’s appointment as New York State’s Ambassador to Loneliness, the first such position in the United States.
In collaboration with Reimagine, Allison hosts a monthly conversation series on overcoming loneliness, “Making Connections,” and previously hosted “Passed and Present,” named after her beloved book, about death and maintaining family bonds. Featured guests have included U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, Anna Quindlen, V, formerly Eve Ensler, Rachel Cargle, David Kessler, Tembi Locke, Jean Chatzky, and Dr. BJ Miller.
Allison has been interviewed on the Today show, Good Morning America, and NPR, given a speech in front of the President of Iceland, appeared on stage with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Soledad O’Brien, and presented hundreds of talks to audiences at Amazon, Google, Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, and many other wellness retreat centers, companies, and organizations. She’s also enjoyed a fabulous dinner with Jay Shetty!
She serves on the Advisory Board of Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors and is a past Board Member of the National Alliance for Children’s Grief.
Allison lives in New York with her husband and two children.
