Ageism | Te Ara Institute

What’s ageism got to do with it?

The COVID-19 pandemic has unfortunately shone the spotlight on some of deep-seated ageist attitudes towards older people.

As village professionals it’s important to understand how we can offer support against this.

Next month, the DCM Institute will be running a session on this very topic with Jane Mussared, chief executive of COTA SA, and Mike Rungie, Director of the Global Centre of Modern Ageing, joining us for the discussion.

As a prelude, we recommend tuning into an upcoming session from Every AGE Counts.

In what is bound to be a great discussion between Ashton Applewhite and Jane Caro, this session will cover the impact ageism is having in today’s society and what we as age service professionals should be doing to minimise it.

The session takes place on Tuesday, November 24.

You can learn more here.

Recently a friend of mine shared a book with me that provided food for thought on how we meet the needs and expectation of the future consumer as Retirement Community professionals.

That includes the language we use, the activities we encourage and the service model we provide. The biggest takeaway for me was further confirmation that our service models in villages must include consultation and respect for individualism.

Whilst much of our focus slants towards the positives we know Retirement Villages provide, we sometimes forget about the unintended consequences such as a lack of intergenerational contact and residents becoming focused on village life and not on their wider community.

Ashton Applewhite’s book explains the roots of ageism—in history and in our own age denial—and how it divides and debases. Whether you’re older or hoping to get there, Ashton will change the way you see the rest of your life and help you break some old habits.

If you are like me and are time poor consider watching her TED Talk HERE.

Even better if you like what you are hearing, perhaps consider seeing her in person on her Australian tour.