The critically needed work to apply the principles of reframing aging and counter the pervasive ageism in our public and private lives continues to gain momentum. And next week, that energy will crest as leaders from across the country gather in person and over Zoom for Summit 2024: The Movement to Reframe Aging.
It has been more than a decade since many Leaders of Aging Organizations, including our own Gerontological Society of America, first came together and identified a common challenge: how to address the pervasive ageism that was complicating and limiting our collective ability to support the policies, programs and practices that benefit older adults and people of all ages. Ageism is discrimination against older people due to negative and inaccurate stereotypes, and we were ready to take action.
Soon after, a group of generous funders, including Archstone Foundation, joined the effort, sponsoring groundbreaking research and tools from FrameWorks Institute and supporting the translation and dissemination of these insights for the field. Ultimately, this group of philanthropic partners invested in the National Center to Reframe Aging, which today serves as the backbone organization for this growing movement.
Better together
Leaders gathering and exchanging ideas is in the DNA of the effort to reframe aging, so Summit 2024 is a fitting way to mark this important moment and our progress to date. We trust it will be a catalyst for change, generating excitement about what we as a collective have accomplished and sparking new ideas about the opportunities before us.
Two former Administration for Community Living chiefs – Lance Robinson, MPA, and Kathy Greenlee, JD – have supported the planning for the summit. They will also emcee the gathering. Nat Kendall-Taylor, CEO of the FrameWorks Institute, will deliver the keynote. Panel discussions will delve into the movement's implications across diverse sectors.
Most broadly, we hope to foster transformative conversations with thought leaders, national experts, federal representatives, and local, regional, and state-based leaders. We want to generate insights about the current movement to reframe aging – and, importantly, what’s next. We want to exchange ideas about how best to advance an equitable and complete story about aging in America, including the intersections of ageism with racism, sexism, and ableism.
Now is the time
Summit 2024 comes at a critical moment not only in the movement to reframe aging, but also as the issues of age and ageism continue to be part of the national conversation in the runup to a presidential election between the two oldest major party candidates in our nation’s history. Ageist stereotypes continue to float through the discourse, but this reckoning has brought the issue out into the light. The Summit will highlight ideas about how to both respond to unhelpful stories and use this attention and social media coverage to raise awareness of the opportunities and possibilities that come with a growing number of older people in our families, communities, and nation.
Join us
We hope you will join us at Summit 2024, which will take place at (and be broadcast from) the National Press Club in Washington from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET on April 10. Register here.
We have made much progress in this effort, but truly transforming the narrative around aging will require more people, passion, and progress not only in the aging space, but throughout our increasingly older and vibrant society.
