Disrupt Aging in Your Community

By Kamili Wilson, AARP Vice President for Enterprise Initiatives

In May, I participated in a call with AARP alumni volunteer leaders from across the country to provide an overview of Disrupt Aging and discuss how alumni can join us in this important work. If you missed the call and are interested in learning more about how to get involved, this article is for you! In partnership with the Office of Volunteerism and Engagement, I would welcome the opportunity to work with you on how to bring Disrupt Aging to life in your community. I appreciate any and all feedback from alumni and can be reached at kawilson@aarp.org.

Overview of Disrupt Aging

We are all aging, every day.

The good news is the way we are aging is changing, mostly for the better. Our ability to live longer, healthier, more productive lives is one of mankind’s greatest accomplishments.

But the bad news is we don’t see it that way. Attitudes and stereotypes about aging haven’t changed. And many ideas and solutions available to us as we age—such as mandatory retirement and nursing homes—are out of date.

Through Disrupt Aging, AARP is taking a leadership role in shaping the future of aging by challenging outdated beliefs about aging around the world and sparking new solutions so people can choose how they live and age.

Disrupt Aging was launched across AARP in January 2016, and culminated with the publication and release of the book, “ Disrupt Aging: A Bold New Path to Living Your Best Life at Every Age,” in April 2016. The book was a tool to start a conversation, and more than a year after it was published, Disrupt Aging has turned into a collective global effort to change the conversation on aging.

But Disrupt Aging is not just about changing the conversation. It is also about changing the reality of aging –

• individual behaviors,
• social norms,
• public policies and
• private-sector practices.

This encompasses changing the culture –

• how we perceive,
• what we believe, and
• how we behave…

as individuals, as institutions and collectively as a society.

In 2017, Disrupt Aging is focused on four key strategies:

• • Discuss It – We seek to shape the public discussion on aging with people of all ages; build a network of Disrupt Aging champions who activate their own communities; drive conversations on aging among domestic and global thought leaders, and weave Disrupt Aging into key conversations on improving quality of life in communities across the country.
  • Model It – AARP is assessing our own policies to ensure that we are first and foremost a leader in age diversity and inclusion, and our Employee Communications group is working to ensure that AARP staff and volunteers embrace Disrupt Aging in our own lives and in our work.
  • Solve for It – AARP Services, Inc. (ASI) and AARP’s Enterprise Strategy group is working with industry leaders across the country to spark private-sector solutions that make life better for all as they age.
  • Demand It – The AARP Foundation and CSNG staff and volunteers across the country are advancing new policy ideas to help people prepare for longer lifespans on issues such as caregiving, tele-health, work/jobs, savings/planning, and livable communities.

And there are three key themes that run throughout all of this work:

• We can’t do this alone. We have to bring all of society with us. There is a public role for government at all levels, a private role for businesses and organizations, and a personal role and responsibility for each of us.
• Innovation is essential. Not just in terms of products and services, but also with our social structures and programs.
• Disrupt Aging is not just about people older than 50. Let’s work together to shine a light on the ageist attitudes and perceptions that permeate our society and which play such a huge role in shaping culture. When we change perceptions related to age and aging, we can change the culture.

Response across the country

We’ve had hundreds of conversations across the country since the book launched, and the response has been overwhelming and positive. Disrupt Aging works very closely with TK Keller, senior adviser in States & Communities, on integrating Disrupt Aging through our state and local work where it makes most sense. TK has heard from several states that Disrupt Aging gives states a non-partisan, non-confrontational platform to talk about what it means to age today and what AARP is doing to create more choices for people as they age. Elaine Ryan, vice president of state advocacy and strategy, is an excellent partner in the Disrupt Aging work. Through Disrupt Aging, she has opened up new conversations with local leaders on critical policy issues, and her team will continue to work with state staff and volunteers on a number of advocacy forums throughout 2017.

Ideas for engagement

There are many ways to get involved. Check out the Volunteer Portal, where you can see a range of materials and ideas.

One approach that has been very powerful is hosting what we call “Decades Dinners,” which are modeled after a Jeffersonian-style dinner. The dinners are highly conversational and intimate, and a number of staff from across state offices have participated.  Typically, we choose 12-15 people, men and women, whose ages range from 20 to 70+, and we moderate a discussion around a challenge question. For example: “A 10-year old in the U.S. today has a 50% chance of living to be 104. If you knew you were going to live to live that long, what would you differently?”

We also have a discussion guide that can be used for book clubs or community conversations, and TK is working with AARP Studios and the Office of Community Engagement on a DVD and discussion guide for AARP volunteer facilitators that uses videos to spark an honest conversation about our own outdated beliefs about aging and how these might limit our possibilities in life no matter what our age.

The idea behind these engagement opportunities is that Disrupt Aging starts with each of us. We all have the opportunity to be role models and change the conversation on aging in our lives.

I hope you’re as excited as I am about the opportunities that Disrupt Aging presents not just to AARP, but for the future of empowered aging. If you have any questions or new ideas, don’t hesitate to contact me.