Happy Ageism Day!
I am often unimpressed by the multitude of ‘days’ celebrating and commiserating various events, emotions and ‘-isms’.
They often seem contrived hooks for activists and agencies to impose memories and actions on an indifferent public.
It’s a crowded calendar. Last Saturday, for example, was World Coffee Day (isn’t every day?) and the United Nations’ day for recognising the contributions of older folk.
But don’t worry, you haven’t missed out. This Friday (Oct 7), as many might not fully have appreciated in Australia, it is Ageism Awareness Day. And, like it or not, we are likely to encounter it.
According to the UN, an estimated half of the world’s population holds negative views about age and ageing. It’s got to have an effect.
The UN regards you as an ‘older person’ from age 60 up. Last weekend, their International Day of Older Persons was themed ‘Resilience of Older Persons in a Changing World’.
So read below about the Australian campaign to reduce ageism, see the video of those aged 100 years and over getting on with life and reflect on how perhaps, as older people, even we can perpetrate ageism.
Every Age Counts is a worthwhile campaign to address ageism. You can score your own attitudes to these issues with their quiz which is quite fun.
As you might see from the graphic, I managed OK, but it makes you see how casual ageism is all around us, and much of it comes from those ‘of age’.
You can take their pledge, play more games, and participate in online activities this Friday. So don’t delay.
The UN’s older persons day might have formally passed, but their efforts to build resilience in this group right around the world and to recognise the role of older women are to be applauded.
Did you know, for example, that the number of people aged 60 years and older now outnumber children younger than five years, and in the next 30 years, the number of older people will double to 1.5 billion?
If you are feeling a bit weary, check out the video on the UN site called Change the Way You Think About Age. It features some energetic, open-hearted, and open-minded centenarians eloquently sharing the joy of being over 100.
What do you think about ageism? Is it someone else’s problem with receiving or promoting it, or do you suffer directly and how?
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