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Community Collaborators Symposium
The first Age in America Community Collaborators Symposium was held on January 30–31, 2008. Hosted by the Center for the Study of Modern Art at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., the Symposium brought together the leaders of the three demonstration partnerships, Project Advisors, national staff and other specialists in aging and interpretive programming.
As a demonstration project, Age in America involves experimentation and learning at the national and local levels. Project Symposia are one of the vehicles for stimulating exchange and findings across the participating sites. The first Symposium focused on the background and themes for the project, initial plans for local programs, and processes for project communication, documentation and evaluation.
Highlights of the Symposium included presentations by Project Advisors Dr. Victor Marshall, Director of the University of North Carolina Center on Aging, and Dr. Katherine Ott, Curator, National Museum of American History—Smithsonian Institution.
Victor Marshall provided participants with an overview of the demographic trends that are bringing about an “Age Wave” worldwide, and reflected on the implications of these trends in terms of potential changes in museum and library audiences and services (click here for Powerpoint presentation).
Katherine Ott offered “a Meditation on Age, Museums, Material Culture and Purpose.”
She looked at the history of American attitudes towards aging as a social experience, tracing a change in nineteenth century concepts of aging from a perception of a journey or a “climb” to a perception of aging as a process of increasing poor health and decline. For Victorian health reformers vitality was a priority; aging because lumped with disease. To a large extent the latter view has prevailed, despite increasing evidence of continued vitality along with increased longevity. Ott reflected on the need for cultural institutions to recognize the vital “rhythms” of today's older adults and to adjust their offerings to stimulate expanded concepts of age and aging.
The afternoon session was devoted to discussion of the local Age in America projects. Participants gave brief presentations on the status of their local planning and exchanged ideas about program development, potential partners and outreach to multi-generational audiences. They affirmed the need for varied program approaches that reflect the diverse experiences of aging in their particular communities. For more details on the Symposium, see below for the full agenda.
A second Community Collaborators Symposium will be held in the fall of 2008, focusing on reports from the communities about the formation of partnerships and coalitions, the status of plans for public programs and outreach and approaches to evaluation.
AGE IN AMERICA
Community Collaborators Symposium
Washington, DC
January 30–31, 2008
Agenda
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
6:00–9:00 pm
Reception and Dinner Etrusco Restaurant
1606 20th Street, NW
• Introductions
• Project Overview
Thursday, January 31, 2008
8:30 am
Welcome Center for the Study of Modern Art,
Phillips Collection
1600 21st Street, NW
8:45–10:30 am
Advisor Presentations
• Victor Marshall
• Katherine Ott
10:30 am
Break
10:45–12:00 pm
Project Themes Discussion
• Age in the Home
• Age in the Workplace
• Age in the Community/Public Life
12:00–1:00 pm
Lunch
1:00–2:30 pm
Local Collaboratives: Review and Discussion of Initial Plans
• Hartford, CT
• Norfolk, VA
• Suffolk County, NY
2:30–4:00 pm
National Implementation: Review and Discussion of Initial Plans
• National Resources
• Project Website
• Communications and Documentation
• Timetable
• Evaluation
4:00 pm
Adjourn
