Age-Friendly Forum

Summary

On January 19th the City of Brampton hosted an Age-Friendly Forum inviting residents to join the conversation of how to make Brampton a better place to live at all stages of life. As part of the City of Brampton’s ongoing work to develop an age-friendly strategy, the forum aimed to engage residents, City Staff and external organizations on how Brampton aims to become an age-friendly city. Kicking off the forum was Gil Penalosa, founder of internationally recognized non-profit organization 8 80 City. The organization was created based on a simple, powerful philosophy that a city built for an eight-year-old and an 80-year-old will create a successful city for all people. Penalosa stressed the importance of education among older people, and removing barriers and encouraging active, healthy urban design to support aging populations. A presentation by the local police department was also conducted which educated older people about Cybersecurity.

The event was delivered through the collaborative efforts of the City of Brampton and a local post-secondary college (Sheridan), in particular, the Social Service Worker – Gerontology Program, tying together the importance of educational and institutional partnerships. Student volunteers helped with event delivery via marketing, facilitating an employment information table and providing assistance to senior residents. Volunteers also facilitated a Hindi language information table, showing cross-cultural collaboration, and a ‘World Café’ with youth attendee`s – a facilitated seminar discussing issues impacting youth in cities and the importance of building age-friendly environments.

The forum highlighted the breadth of existing work which assists older people and supports the directives of the age-friendly strategy.

Website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbTs8Dgay3Y&feature=emb_title

Key facts

Main target group: Older people in general

Other target group(s): Youth, Hindi-speaking residents

Sector(s): Health, Information and communication, Social protection

Desired outcome for older people:
Meet their basic needs

Other issues the Age-friendly practice aims to address:

Ageing in place
Intergenerational activities
Inclusion
Participation

Contact details

Name: Daniella Balasal

Email address: daniella.balasal@brampton.ca

Age-friendly practice in detail (click to expand):

Engaging the wider community

Project lead: Local authorities

Others involved in the project:

Volunteers

How collaboration worked: The community event was hosted in partnership with a local educational institution, Sheridan College, which allowed for sharing of ideas and best practices.

Older people’s involvement: Older people were involved in the age-friendly practice at multiple or all stages

Details on older people’s involvement: Seniors played a critical role in the forum’s success. Members on the City’s age-friendly advisory committee oversaw event registration, and also assisted with raising awareness through word-of-mouth and social media. Many of the attendees were also older adults, providing input into the development of the strategy through their participation in the facilitated world-café activity.

Moving forward

Has the impact of this age-friendly practice been analysed: Yes

Was the impact positive or negative:
Positive

Expansion plans:
The City intends to host an age-friendly forum annually, with the second forum to occur on the 1 year anniversary of the age-friendly strategy’s approval.

Looking back

Reflections:
There is opportunity for greater partnerships the next time the City implements this age-friendly practices, such as collaboration with health and technology industries.

Challenges:
The greatest challenge experienced related to planning, organizing and the use of a “virtual” team. Tools such as a community engagement plan, and use of a communal “To-Do” list functioned as great resources to improve communication and keep the core team organized. In addition, frequent conference calls allowed for effective communication with remote members of the core planning team.