Biography
Jan Hively, PhD, Co-Founder & U.S. Liaison, Pass It On Network. After a career in city and schools planning and administration, Jan earned her Ph.D. in 2001 at age 69 with a dissertation on “Productive Ageing in Rural Minnesota”. Since then, she has focused on raising awareness about new opportunities and challenges for older adults based on 21st century trends and research. As an “Encore Entrepreneur,” Jan is the co-founder of several thriving networks supporting lifework planning and positive ageing, including the Vital Aging Network, www.vital-aging-network.org, the SHIFT Network, www.shift-on-line.org , and the global exchange, Pass It On Network, www.passitonnetwork.org . As an Encore Purpose Prize Fellow, Jan is a nationally and internationally recognized presenter and consultant for programs that engage older adult leadership and support positive, productive ageing. Her degrees were earned at Harvard University (A.B., SEP) and the University of Minnesota (MA, SEP).
Hively, J.
Symposium
Creating an Age-Friendly Digital Environment for Global Support of Healthy Ageing
Kari Henley, Founder, Age without Borders. Kari is a social entrepreneur and an “aging enthusiast,” with decades of experience in startups, virtual content development, international tele-seminars, blogging for the Huffington Post, facilitating for corporate and private clients and private consulting to bring out the best in thought leaders. Kari has a Masters degree in Psychology, Masters coursework in Organizational Leadership, and is passionate about the ageing industry’s global transformation. Age Without Borders is a boutique virtual events company, specializing in summits, e-courses and webinars. We catalyze active ageing innovations with practical and inspiring content. We feature global and multi-generational thought leaders who help you engage in lifelong learning on topics of vital interest to the 50+ market, including caregiving, finance, retirement, travel, relationships and health. We help you transform your experience of ageing to one of positivity and purpose, combat ageism, and join a vibrant global community of change-makers.
Henley, K.
Judy Rough, Senior Director of Strategic Alliances for the Society of Certified Senior Advisors (SCSA). Judy oversees the SCSA Leaders Network groups around the country. She connects with corporations, professional associations, non-profit organizations, government agencies, Gerontology programs, subject matter experts, and individuals to establish strategic relationships in aging. The goal is to increase awareness for SCSA as a connector and supporter in the field of aging, be a resource for valuable content, and a hub of information and connections in careers and the business of aging.
Rough, J.
Kathleen Bailey, Director, Age-Friendly Yarmouth Senior Services. Kathi Bailey’s career started in the Computer Industry, working with semiconductor leaders in Silicon Valley, evolving into supply chain management, and later into connecting business process to software applications. Kathi completed a computer science degree at UMASS Amherst and completed a Master’s Degree in Regional Economics and Social Development at UMASS Lowell. She moved from managing global computer systems projects to navigating municipal governance as a Senior Center Director in Clinton, MA. As a lifelong change agent, she led the move to a new facility, piloted a Youth Council on Aging to promote intergenerational exchanges, and launched a Sister Senior Center pilot to foster intercultural exchange. She has served as a National Council on Aging delegate to Cuba to study healthcare and aging, a Ford Foundation research partner with Zhejiang University in China; and as a member of the National Council on Aging Economic Security team. In her current role as Director of Yarmouth Senior Services, she has facilitated the World Health Organization Age-Friendly Community Initiative with support from Tufts Foundation and served as a catalyst for a Cape Cod-wide expansion of this project. A partnership with China continues to expand as a way to share knowledge about best practices in aging with intentional linkages to economic development.
Bailey, K.
Moira Allan, Co-Founder, International Coordinator, Pass It On Network. Moira Allan’s career is in journalism, public relations, life coaching, training, and managing an occupational health organization. She is from South Africa and has lived and worked in Paris for the last 35 years. Since 2006, she has followed the work of the Positive Ageing movement in the U.S. and coordinated the 2Young2Retire network in Europe with its French counterpart – Le Cercle des Seniors Actifs – the association that conceived the Pass it On Network with Jan Hively from the USA. Moira is the
International Coordinator for Pass It On since 2013. She is the international liaison for Age Without Borders virtual summits. She serves on the Board of the International Longevity Center – France and is active on the European level through Age Platform where she represents the French association Old’Up.
Allan, M.
Session Abstract.
Digital technologies have given us the power to develop grassroots advocacy for Healthy Ageing. We will show how digital communities are crossing the divides of gender/race/income and moving around the tensions of competitive nationalism to work collaboratively and effectively both locally and globally. We will show how digital communities are addressing each and all of the four IFA Conference themes, by:
1) Combatting Ageism through digital education;
2) Strengthening networks supporting Healthy Ageing;
3) Leveraging innovation to develop Age-Friendly Environments; and
4) Addressing and reducing Inequalities.
This symposium (Subtheme #3.6) will show how the use of communication technologies can create an Age-Friendly Environment for older adults around the world to realize their potential for healthy, active, positive ageing. Interaction with innovators and professionals and role models for Healthy Ageing worldwide is empowering older adults to share their strengths and help each other, themselves, and their communities.
Jan Hively will provide an overview of the presentations and introduce the presenters, who will illustrate their words with short videos to show how digital communities are addressing each of the four conference themes. Dr. Hively will moderate Q&A after each presenter and at the end of the session. Handouts will include a list of relevant media resources. Listeners will be asked to fill out a feedback form with contact information if they want follow-up.
Presentation Abstracts
- Jan Hively, PhD, Co-Founder & U.S. Liaison, Pass It On Network
Overview of the Symposium and Introduction of Presenters. Moderator for Q&A.
- Kari Henley, Founder, Age without Borders
Combatting Ageism through Digital Education
Increasing our literacy about global innovations to support healthy aging is vital to combat ageism and prepare both developed and developing nations to better manage the global ageing phenomenon. However, getting up-to-date content is challenging, even within the ageing industry itself. Traveling to conferences is expensive and time consuming, and collecting reliable and up-to-date online reports is itself a skill. Age without Borders produces digital content to elevate ageing literacy though virtual events including free access to cutting-edge expertise with thought leaders and role models focused on key issues in caregiving, combatting ageism, housing, finance and entrepreneurship. Most of the world has access to a computer or smart phone, and information is increasingly being delivered through video content, with YouTube surpassing Google as the #1 search engine. Kari Henley will offer an overview of the rise of digital education, and highlight her recent global caregiving virtual summit featuring over 50 speakers from around the world – exploring the topic of caregiving from the perspective of ageing industry innovators, professional caregivers, and educators, as well as those family members and friends who fell into the role and emerged as thought leaders.
- Judy Rough, CSA – Senior Director of Strategic Alliances, Society of Certified Senior Advisors
Using Technology to Strengthen Networks Supporting Healthy Ageing
Connecting and exchanging information has always been a key factor in business and the business of ageing is no exception. In this fast-paced business environment, professionals do not want to waste time and/or money. Essential organizational assets include understanding what already exists in the marketplace, having a strong and highly vetted support network, and maintaining a professional development system.
We are in an era when free or inexpensive digital platforms can be used for research, education and networking worldwide. Through social media and video conferencing, we can connect and learn far beyond what was possible only a few years ago. Knowledge can be obtained in smaller chunks and relationships can become deeper more quickly. With today’s technology, multidisciplinary teams of professionals can examine a situation faced by an older adult and offer options and solutions a single practitioner might not have come up with. Technology can be used to reduce isolation and loneliness and both enhance a caring relationship and encourage self-management.
We will examine simple methods that are free or low cost to expand a professional network, enhance support for healthy ageing, and improve life as we age.
Kathleen Bailey, Director, Age Friendly Yarmouth Senior Services
Leveraging Innovation to Develop Age-Friendly Environments
Taking on the challenge of developing A Friendly Community for All Ages is a unifying opportunity in a time of great divides. We can unite the generations behind reform and align our social and economic development policies by applying the WHO framework globally, regionally, and locally as evidenced by our work in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, USA. An intergenerational lens broadens our social construct, reflective of the call for “Multisector action for a life course approach to healthy ageing,” found in the current Global Strategy and Action Plan for 2016-2020. We can build improved lifespan communities that link the stages of life with goals for improved health through mindful distribution of resources that leverages technology and empowers voice through inclusive participation. We can grow the potential for inclusive advocacy leadership to address and reform policies so they address actual reality and create space for future potential. I will show some tangible examples of how we are spreading elements of Intergenerational Age-Friendly Yarmouth internationally — from team leadership to innovation networking. The examples will include the development of Intergenerational Model United Nations sessions with seniors/students pairing up to work on global/local issues.
- Moira Allan, Co-Founder & International Coordinator, Pass It On Network
Reducing Inequalities through a Global Digital Community of Healthy Ageing Advocates
The Pass It On Network connects advocacy leaders for healthy ageing within a global digital community. Liaisons from countries and networks in all of the five UN regions meet online and use the website www.passitonnetwork.org to explore, document, and spread creative concepts, activities, and resources that are shaping a new way of talking and a new way of being as we adapt to a longer life span. All of the liaisons believe that the work of elders is to “pass it on” – sharing know-how with others, capitalizing on what works, and shaping positive expectations for meaningful work and learning lifelong. Moira Allan will show how Pass It On addresses and reduces inequalities (based on gender, race, abilities, education, rural-urban, digital expertise, generations) with a short film –showing recent activities such as the Pass It On Trust Uganda campaign, the Seenagers Conference in Nigeria, Senior Techies in Australia, Wisdom Ripening in Bashkortostan, etc. We are living the longevity revolution in real time. We are both the actors and producers, sharing the wisdom and other strengths that we’ve gained from experience in this global digital community.