Articles

Active Aging Week: "Redefine active" with engaging life experiences If your organization has yet to register as a host site for this year's Active Aging Week, why not get involved? Active Aging Week is the annual celebration of aging and active living that we all look forward to each year. It's the activities you provide that promote wellness, fun and friendship in your neighborhood or community. And it's the spotlight you shine on how to live well at any age by staying positively engaged in all aspects of life. Started by the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA) in 2003, Active Aging Week has grown with your help from a grassroots initiative into a global movement. ... The experiences of Active Aging Week remind us that every generation contributes to a vibrant, strong society (see the sidebar for an overview of what some hosts did last year). In 2019, Active Aging Week will take place October 1-7. This year's theme, "Redefining Active," highlights the fact that aging actively is about so much more than physical activity. View detail

Maple Leaf Quest: How Kerby Centre used Active Aging Week to bookend a yearlong walking initiative Every year local hosts develop customized schedules of Active Aging Week activities that show remarkable creativity and produce positive life experiences. One hope expressed for the annual celebration of aging and living well is that older adults will try something that engages them meaningfully and encourages them ultimately to adopt a wellness practice or lifestyle. For hosts, the challenge can lie in translating interest in demonstrations and free activities into ongoing participation. One agency in Calgary, Canada, found an answer to this challenge in a wellness initiative bookended by consecutive Active Aging Weeks. View detail

"Ignite your passion": Hosts share what they did for Active Aging Week 2017 Whether through host reports or emails, websites or blogs, traditional or social media, Active Aging Week hosts reported on what they did for Active Aging Week 2017 and shared stories of meaningful events. To review all these offerings is to be impressed anew at the array of fun, engaging and educational opportunities available to participants. Featured are 10 mini-profiles and a sampling of news to give a flavor of the week. View detail

Inspiring wellness through Active Aging Week A life well lived: It's a hope we all cherish. Every September, Active Aging Week illuminates that hope by highlighting our ability to live well throughout the life span and celebrating aging. Organizations, professionals, older adults and supporters of all ages come together in the last week of September to share--and be inspired by--a week of positive life experiences and can do spirit. View detail

Active Aging Week: Share your experiences for recognition and promotion What would it take to ignite passion among your staff, residents and/or members? What about their families and friends? How about your management team or ownership? And your neighborhood or community at large? The answer may be staring you in the mirror. By igniting your passion, you may spark the desire in others to embrace their own, inspiring them to "do" more and enhance quality of life through active aging-for themselves and for others. Active aging is all about "being engaged in life." As a host site for Active Aging Week, the annual ICAA-led campaign highlighting people's ability to live fully at any age, you can inspire your community to come together and celebrate what it means to engage in life. View detail

Ignite your passion with Active Aging Week People may live fully-with verve, vigor and vitality-at any age and regardless of health conditions. That's the message and the reality that Active Aging Week highlights each year during the last full week of September. Led by the International Council on Active Aging with support from national sponsors, Active Aging Week celebrates the positivity of aging today and promotes healthy, active living in communities and neighborhoods across North America and beyond. The campaign reaches adults ages 50 and older where it especially counts-at the local level. All kinds of organizations serve as local hosts for the weeklong festival, offering activities and events that encourage people to try something new and perhaps embrace a wellness lifestyle. Why not plan to participate and host events in your area? View detail

Exploring the possibilities at Active Aging Week 2016 The surprise of a man riding a camel. The fun of a basketball game with preschool children and older adults. The exuberance of the winners in a cycling team competition. These are only a few of the stories of Active Aging Week, the annual festival held in the last full week of September to celebrate aging and living well. Promoted by the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA), the event is brought to life by organizers in many communities and countries. View detail

Active Aging Week 2016: Resources aid last-minute planning Across North America and beyond, organizations dedicated to older-adult wellness are getting ready to celebrate aging and living well with a bevy of opportunities for Active Aging Week. In 2016, the health-promotion event takes place September 25 through October 1. Pressure mounts in host organizations to finalize schedules and arrangements as the week approaches. There’s still time, however, for organizers who want to make late additions to their schedules, as well as those who decide to host the week at the last minute. Free resources and tools are available to help. View detail

Active Aging Week: Host perspectives paint a fuller picture As Active Aging Week 2016 draws nearer, participating organizations will be busily planning schedules of events that are uniquely theirs--that’s part of the fun of hosting the annual health-promotion campaign that celebrates aging and living well. Many local hosts will share their experiences and photographs with the International Council on Active Aging, which organizes the initiative on a national level. Some stories will appear in the Journal on Active Aging’s article showcasing the successes and spirit of the week. But local hosts typically reveal more than their successes to ICAA. This article presents perspectives shared by five host organizations over the last few years. These case studies paint a fuller picture that may provide pointers and spark ideas for those participating in this year’s campaign. View detail

Active Aging Week 2016: explore the possibilities Experiences that help people to grow, learn, improve their health and discover meaningful new interests are part of a vibrant, active lifestyle-and Active Aging Week. A health promotion campaign that celebrates the positivity of aging and living well, Active Aging Week features a bounty of fun, educational events and activities offered by local hosts in a welcoming atmosphere. In 2015, an estimated 3,000-plus organizations in six countries hosted participants for a week of adventure. This year’s campaign encourages hosts and participants to "Explore the possibilities" to grow and live well that each day brings. View detail