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Civic Engagement in an Older America E-Newsletter November, 2006 CONTENTS • Civic Engagement and the Gerontological Imagination • A Guide to Sessions on Civic Engagement at GSA's 2006 Annual Meeting • Congress Supports Older Adults' Civic Engagement in Reauthorization of OAA • Broken Engagement: America's Civic Health Index • Civic Ventures Opens Nominations for 2007 Purpose Prize and New BreakThrough Award • Civic Engagement and Aging Resources ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Civic Engagement and the Gerontological Imagination
Four leading scholars with diverse areas of expertise will convene
for a special symposium on civic engagement in later life at The
Gerontological Society of America's (GSA) Annual Meeting in Dallas
later this month. The symposium, titled "Civic Engagement and
the Gerontological Imagination," will take place on Sunday,
November 19, from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. in State Room 3 of the Adam's
Mark Hotel. First on the panel, Andrew Achenbaum from the University
of Houston will highlight major demographic trends supporting the
idea that contemporary seniors are not only recipients of U.S. social
goods, but also contributors. Next, Marty Martinson from the University
of California-Berkeley will heighten sensitivity to the fact that
older adults vary in their ability and desire to become civically
engaged. Finally, Robert Hudson from Boston University will review
critiques from the right to the left on the political spectrum regarding
the degree, intent, and consequences of older adults' civic engagement.
Rick Moody from the AARP will moderate the discussion highlighting
the promise and pitfalls of heightened civic engagement among older
Americans. For more information about GSA's Annual Meeting click
here. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A Guide to Sessions on Civic Engagement at GSA's 2006 Annual Meeting From informing efforts to support older adult workers to evaluating
programs that target older adults as community volunteers, GSA's
Annual Meeting features many papers on civic engagement in later
life. Presented work will include "Active Aging, Lifelong Learning
and Volunteerism: Successful International Models for Building Legacies"
(symposium on Friday, November 17), "Prevalence and Patterns
of Productive Engagement in Late Life" (symposium on Saturday,
November 18), "Cultural Value Correlates of Baby Boomer Volunteer
Motivations" (poster on Sunday, November 19), and "Role
Opportunities in Later Life: Social Relations and Well-Being"
(symposium on Monday, November 20). For a complete guide to conference
sessions on older adults' civic engagement (which includes presentation
titles, authors' names, date, time, location, and a brief description
on how each session relates to civic engagement), view this pdf
file. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Congress Supports Older Adults' Civic Engagement in Reauthorization of OAA
On October 17, 2006, President Bush signed into law the five-year
reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA). The bill reauthorizes
all of the Act's basic programs without reductions or significant
alterations, including "Meals on Wheels" (home-delivered
meal service), family caregiver support, grants to senior centers,
and senior community service employment. In addition, the new law
includes several areas of expansion, including provisions for recognizing
and supporting older adults' community contributions. The bill includes
a definition of civic engagement, requires that the Assistant Secretary
for Aging develop a comprehensive strategic plan for engaging older
adults in meeting critical community needs, and authorizes a new
program of demonstration, support, and research grants for projects
that engage older adults in multigenerational and civic engagement
activities. To view a document containing excerpts related to civic
engagement click
here. To view the entire Older Americans Act Amendments of 2006
(H.R. 6197) click here. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broken Engagement: America's Civic Health Index
The National Conference on Citizenship-a non-profit organization
chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1946-released a new report titled
"Broken Engagement: America's Civic Health Index." The
report uses several sources of U.S. national data (such as the Census
Current Population Survey and the General Social Survey) to track
Americans' civic health from 1975 to 2005, including rates of participation
in civic and religious groups, feelings of trust in other people,
giving and volunteering, and participating in politics. Results
indicate steep declines on most of the 40 measures examined across
the 30 year period, although the rates and direction of change varied
somewhat by individuals' age and educational attainment. The authors
discuss their findings in light of the "deeper civic transformation
for which many had hoped" following the September 11, 2001
terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. To view an electronic
copy of the report, click here. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Civic Ventures Opens Nominations for 2007 Purpose Prize and New BreakThrough Award
Every day nearly 8,000 baby boomers turn 60. This past September, anticipating this huge demographic shift and what it could mean for our country, Civic Ventures announced the first winners of The Purpose Prize-- five $100,000 and ten $10,000 investments in Americans over 60 whose creativity, talent and experience is transforming the way our nation addresses critical social problems. Dozens of other innovators received national recognition for their work. Nominations are being accepted for the 2007 Purpose Prize. To nominate someone or apply yourself, visit www.purposeprize.org. The application deadline is February 1, 2007. The awards will be announced in September 2007. The MetLife Foundation/Civic Ventures BreakThrough Award is a new
award for innovative organizations that tap the passion and experience
of people over 50 to improve society. It will recognize new approaches
to employment for older adults that combine the spirit of service
with the benefits of work. It's a salute to any nonprofit or public
sector agency that takes on local, national, or international challenges
by engaging this vast and vibrant workforce for the common good.
Learn more and nominate or apply at www.civicventures.org/breakthrough.
The application deadline is February 1, 2007. Awards will be announced
in the spring of 2007. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Civic Engagement and Aging Resources Have you checked out the National Academy on an Aging Society’s resources on civic engagement recently? The Academy has nearly doubled the number of links to reports, websites, and other useful documents on civic engagement and aging. Plus, the links are organized thematically and include brief summaries of the information behind each link. Visit this page at http://www.agingsociety.org/agingsociety/links/links_civic_engagement.htm. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The CE-Newsletter is the E-Newsletter of GSA’s Civic Engagement
in an Older America Project. The "Civic Engagement in an Older
America" project is supported If you have been forwarded this by a colleague and would like
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