“From aging in community to age-friendly community” - the “story” of Age-Friendly Sarasota was shared with an international audience on November 5^th at the Conference on Aging & Society in Washington D.C.

The conference is international: 33 countries participated from across the world including Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, North and South America; interdisciplinary: with researchers and practitioners from a range of fields and backgrounds; inclusive: in that all voices from student to scholar are shared; and interactive: via a multitude of formats that promote dialogue and exchange.

Sessions aimed to “explore the social dynamics of aging” via four thematic perspectives on aging: economic and demographic; public discourse and public policy; medical, health and wellness; and social and cultural. This focus created opportunities for interesting connections and conversations on a wide range of topics including: intergenerational relationships, social capital and age-friendly design.

Our Age-Friendly Sarasota presentation was attended by researchers from China, South Korea, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Canada. Interesting dialogues ensued that provided cross-cultural comparisons and “other” ideas about what is working in their own respective countries. Subsequent relationships were developed, and ongoing communication is expected with many of our new colleagues. Researchers from Sweden plan on Skyping for an interview with their students and took photos and quotes from our presentation to publish back in their home country!

Age-Friendly Sarasota continues to reach multiple audiences as noted in previous blogs from the Florida Council on Aging in our own home state, the national AARP conference on Age-Friendly Communities, and the international Aging & Society conference reported here. We look forward to continuing to share our work – locally and beyond – throughout our age-friendly journey!