Международная Федерация по старению: Бюллетень, август, 2017
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IFA VoltAge | August 2017
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The IFA Welcomes New Staff — Amma Nyarko
Amma Nyarko joined the IFA as a Project Officer in July 2017. She holds a Masters of Public Health degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland, specializing in public and population health. Amma aspires to working to promote health and wellness of people through implementation of effective policies, programs, and/or initiatives.
Since graduating, Amma has worked at several different NGOs and health establishments, where she learned how to develop and coordinate health programs, and to identify gaps in policies and service delivery. Moreover, it enabled her to identify health inequalities through population risk assessment.
Amma’s interest in working at the IFA was sparked by the opportunity to obtain a platform that can be used to support older people both in Canada and internationally. She is excited about impacting change on people’s lives through the IFA’s national and international partnerships and programs.
As a Project Officer, Amma is coordinating the Eye See You Campaign, the Geographic Atrophy Project, and the LGBTQI Working Group for the 14th Global Conference on Ageing. Amma brings her strong people skills, team-player spirit, and professional background to this job. In addition to continuing her work at the IFA, Amma’s future aspirations and goals include attaining her PhD in the field of Public Health and Health Systems, focusing on health and ageing.
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Spotlight On Senior Students
A ‘potpourri of classes’ is how Adrian Janssens, 68, describes his current studies at the University of Saskatchewan, in Saskatoon, Canada. Despite having initially enrolled with the intention of studying music, the lifelong musician says he has now taken classes in music history, composition, political science, English drama, and archaeology.
Though he is not working towards a particular degree, Adrian describes learning as an ongoing experience. In fact, this is the second time he has attended university as a mature, if not in the past, ‘senior’ student, having previously studied at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Canada when he was in his forties.
«The age difference between myself and other students isn’t so much a challenge as a fact of life,» he says, when asked if being a ‘senior student’ poses any particular challenges to him. The importance of supporting his fellow students means more than any challenges he might face, as not only do the other students benefit from Adrian’s life experience, but helping them «makes me feel good.»
Costs associated with classes may be prohibitive to some, especially the costs of textbooks, Adrian notes, joking that the same textbooks did not cost nearly as much when he was first attending school. But given that many universities are now waiving tuition costs, he believes that if people can afford it, then they should attend, just to «enjoy the experience.»
More than anything, Adrian encourages other older people who might be thinking of returning to school, or attending for the first time, to just «go for it, just do it.» In particular, he cites the wealth of resources available to students at the University of Saskatchewan as a reason to enroll — as a student, he has been able to record two musical autographs, using recording software made available by the university’s music department, that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive.
«I’m going to keep [attending classes] until I can’t do it anymore. The school, the whole experience, it keeps me young.»
The IFA is looking to profile other senior students, both at the undergraduate and graduate level. If you are over sixty-five years of age and attending a post-secondary institution and would like to be profiled in an upcoming edition of VoltAge, please contact Kate MacRae at kmacrae@ifa-fiv.org
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Update from the World Coalition on Adult Vaccination
The World Coalition on Adult Vaccination continues to expand in 2017! The IFA team is working diligently on the creation of the adult vaccination website, which will highlight the work done by the IFA and the World Coalition on Adult Vaccination, and provide resources on adult vaccination for interested parties. Keep checking the Coalition Twitter account @vaccines4life for updates on the website launch.
In addition to the adult vaccination website, the IFA in collaboration with ILC UK is preparing for a meeting in London, United Kingdom that focuses on at-risk older populations. The goal of this meeting is to create a deeper understanding of the intersections of vaccination, ageing, and non-communicable diseases within the purview of healthy ageing, and to support the inclusion of at-risk populations, such as COPD, diabetes, and asthma, in the vaccination conversation. For a report on this meeting (coming in fall 2017) visit the IFA website.
The IFA would also like to thank members of the Coalition for their important contributions to the adult vaccination newsletters so far in 2017. The relationships among members of the Coalition are gaining strength and are indicative of the growing interest in the life course approach to vaccination.
The Coalition looks forward to further discussions and developments at the intersections of adult vaccination, NCDs and healthy ageing. To find out more about the World Coalition on Adult Vaccination, contact jrochman-fowler@ifa-
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The IFA Welcomes New Staff — Tarah McMaster
Tarah McMaster joined the IFA in August 2017 as Conference and Events Coordinator. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Ontario and a diploma in Special Events Planning from George Brown College.
Tarah brings to the IFA over five years of events planning experience, but her passion for this field began in high school. There, Tarah sat on various committees such as the White Ribbon Campaign, Toy Drive, and Yearbook Committee. Through university, she developed interpersonal skills, and was active in different committees and small events. Tarah also planned a bridal tradeshow for New Beginnings Support Program, a non-profit that helps women transition out of poverty into stable living. Since graduating from George Brown, she has held two positions in non-profit membership based organizations within the Indigenous Business Sector.
It was an obvious choice for Tarah to work in events, because it is what she is passionate about and excites her. She loves that there is always something new to do, and how challenging her job is. Outside of work, Tarah volunteers in a wide range of organizations such as City of Toronto Special Events, Catholic Children’s Aid Society, and iYellow Wine Club.
Tarah was drawn to the IFA by the prospect of coordinating the 14th Global Conference on Ageing. She is excited to be responsible for planning such a large and complex event, and is thrilled to bring her experience and background to the IFA.
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WHO / IFA Webinar — «Aging2.0: Improving experiences for older people through technology and innovation»
The latest WHO / IFA webinar, «Aging2.0: Improving Experiences For Older People Through Technology and Innovation» was presented by Mr. Stephen Johnston , co-founder and CEO of Aging2.0 on August 8, 2017. The webinar, the fourth in a series of webinars on age-friendly environments (AFE), garnered substantial interest, with participants asking questions and providing feedback, which is central to creating links between innovation, technology, and age-friendly environments.
This webinar highlighted the influx of technology that is currently being designed for and marketed to older people, and discussed the varying ways in which these innovations can help shape ideas of healthy ageing, and be integrated into age-friendly environments.
Handouts for the webinar can be found here and the recording for the webinar can be found by clicking here.
This series of webinars is a part of the IFA’s ongoing commitment to exchanging information and knowledge on age-friendly environments. The IFA continues to develop additional age-friendly initiatives such as:
To be part of ongoing developments in the IFA’s work on age-friendly, and to receive and make contributions to the upcoming age-friendly newsletter, register your interest here or contact Jessica Rochman-Fowler.
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Dementia Advisor is a mobile app that helps family caregivers learn how to deal with difficult dementia behaviours and improve communication and problem-solving skills through interactive, chat-based role playing.
Dementia Advisor was developed by Sinai Health System’s Reitman Centre for Alzheimer’s Support & Training in association with Acquian, a digital technology company, and funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Social Development Partnership Program — Children and Families component.
Caregivers learn how to cope with dementia through interactive dialogue guided by expert coaching. Dementia Advisor was developed specifically to help working caregivers cope with the stress of caring for a family member with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. «The scenarios we’ve created for the app are based on years of clinical experience,» says Dr. Joel Sadavoy, Director of the Reitman Centre and Head of Geriatric Psychiatry at Mount Sinai Hospital.
The Dementia Advisor app is available in Canada and comes in iOS and Android versions. The app can be now be downloaded for free from the Apple or Google Play app stores.
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The IFA Welcomes New Staff — Clara Castoldi
Clara Castoldi joined the IFA as an intern in July 2017. She is a third year student from the Institute of Political Science in Aix-en-Provence, France. She chose her university because it enabled her to keep her career options open, and study subjects she is interested in, including history, philosophy, economy, and international relations. During her classes, she has learned about health-care systems — and the many challenges they are facing to enable healthy ageing — which has made her want to work to help to improve them.
After contributing to the humanitarian organization of her school to bridge the gap with homeless people, Clara realized she wanted to work for an organization that helped the most vulnerable by influencing policies related to them. She also hopes that working at the IFA would give her a more practical perception of having a job in an international NGO, to orientate her career objective. Following the completion of her studies, Clara is considering working in an advocacy role at a NGO, a career in diplomacy, or with the secret services in France.
At the IFA, Clara has been assisting the staff with tasks including information research, and maitenance of social media channels. Clara is enjoying her work, and feels like she is already gaining valuable experience. As well she has found she likes the collaborative atmosphere of the organization. Moreover, working with the IFA has provided Clara an opportunity to travel and discover a new city, and she loves living in Toronto.
After her time with the IFA, Clara will be heading to Guadalajara, Mexico, for a university semester. She is looking forward to discovering Latin America, for which she has a strong interest, and improving her Spanish. Her hope is to have enough professional and linguistic skills to pursue a Masters of International Expertise next year.
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