About the Exhibit:
As the number of older adults continues to increase globally, nationally, and locally, organizations are faced with a challenge: how do we ensure that our cities and communities are age-friendly? In other words, how can we facilitate a society where older adults can actively participate across their lifespan? The World Health Organization (WHO) developed an age-friendly framework to help answer this question. Their model has 8 domains of an age-friendly community: outdoor spaces and buildings, transportation, housing, social participation, respect and social inclusion, civic participation and employment, communication and information, and finally, community support and health services. Since 2016, the City of Austin, supported by the Commission on Aging, has placed the WHO’s framework at the center of efforts for an age-inclusive city.
This project seeks to bring a nuanced perspective to respect and social inclusion, one of the 8 domains in the WHO framework. Respect and social inclusion addresses how cultural identity intersects with stigmas about aging and experiences of isolation among older adults. This project aims to elevate the lived experiences of community members by posing questions they can answer through pictures rather than surveys or interviews. It prompts individuals, including those with limited English proficiency, to exercise their civic rights in providing feedback to their elected officials in a unique, accessible, forum. The results of this project were presented to the Commission on Aging and Asian American Quality of Life Commission, with the goal of building support to adapt and replicate this project across other centers in the City of Austin.
Fourteen seniors participated in the AARC’s photovoice project. Each senior received the same six prompts related to respect and social inclusion, translated in Korean and Mandarin for seniors more comfortable participating in their native language. The goal was to answer each question with one photo and to produce a caption that expressed the participants’ deeper reflections. This cohort met for six weeks in a row. They learned about the WHO’s age-friendly framework, Airdrop technology, and most importantly, about each other. Through sharing photos and experiences, the cohort grew their connections with one another.
This exhibit was shared in two parts: a personal booklet of each senior’s photos and captions and a collage of each photo by prompt. Each individual collection booklet could be pulled out of a holder for viewing. Pictorial Collages have been organized by prompt, to provide a comprehensive viewpoint of the participants' unique experiences.
Prompt 2: What is a misconception that you believe other generations have about your age group? A misconception is a belief that is incorrect because it is based on judgment or incorrect facts.
Prompt 4: What is an activity that you wish you could do (or do more of) in Austin but are currently unable to?