AARP Signs on as Sponsor for Global Conference on New, Innovate Field of Positive Aging

Oct. 13, 2010 - PRLog -- The Fielding Graduate University is looking for additional sponsors for its Fourth Annual International Conference on Positive Aging in Los Angeles Dec. 7 - 10 at the Center for Nonprofit Management. AARP has already signed on as a sponsor. With more than 400 attendees expected, including industry leaders, global experts, sponsors and community members, the conference offers everyone an opportunity to be part of an up and coming discussion on helping adults improve their quality of life as they age.

“Sponsorship is an innovative way for companies and organizations to engage with leaders of a new movement important to anyone who crosses their 50th birthday,” said conference organizer Katrina Rogers, Ph.D., director of Fielding Graduate University’s Institute for Social Innovation. “This conference is unique in that sponsors and the public have a first-hand dialogue with leading experts on this topic.”

This year’s event will feature notable surfer, Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, the real-life Gidget, as well as Alfred Hitchcock actress and conservationist Tippi Hedren. The keynote address will be given by Marc Freedman, chief executive officer of Civic Ventures, which aims to “help society achieve the greatest return on experience.” The New York Times calls him “the voice of aging baby boomers who are eschewing retirement for meaningful and sustaining work later in life.” He will discuss how he spearheaded Experience Corps, America’s largest nonprofit national service program engaging individuals in later life.

Attendees include professionals from industries such as health care, insurance, life planning, care giving and lifelong learning, as well as those interested in ageism, aging, spirituality, creativity, wellness, entrepreneurship and more. The conference is open to anyone interested.

The conference, themed “Exploring Positive Aging: Designing Practice and Advancing Knowledge,” gives sponsors the opportunity to demonstrate their character as insightful, progressive, compassionate and committed to the quality of life of people in their second half of life, Rogers said.

“This is a gathering of people from across backgrounds and fields of expertise who are passionate about ensuring that older generations thrive in their mature years,” Rogers said. For sponsorship opportunities, contact Rogers at (805) 898-2924 or krogers@fielding.edu.

Plenary sessions, events that include all participants, will be organized around the themes of creativity, wellness, community and life transitions and will last 60-90 minutes. Topics will include lifelong learning, intergenerational learning, care giving, spirituality and religion, sustainability, entrepreneurship, technology, diversity, public policy, international developments, life planning, ageism, civic engagement and generativity. The conference also will include Active Arts sessions designed to facilitate dialogue about creative expression. For more information, visit www.positiveaging.fielding.edu.

The Fielding Graduate University Institute for Social Innovation combines research, leadership for change and organizational development. The institute’s Creative Longevity and Wisdom Project studies the contributions older people bring to social leadership roles. The institute’s Transforming Communication Project brings together scholars and practitioners who are changing the way people communicate. The institute offers continuing education programs in evidence-based coaching; integral studies; and dialogue, deliberation and public engagement, and programs developing sustainable organizations, including nonprofit collaboratives.

Fielding Graduate University is a leading contributor of knowledge, new practices and graduate-level learning opportunities in the fields of clinical psychology, media psychology, organizational development and educational leadership. It consists of a globally distributed community of professionals who are dedicated to social justice and advancement in organizations, communities and society.