CGD Projects

Project team: Prof. Dr. Aagje Swinnen, professor in Aging Studies, FASoS (team leader) / Ilya Malafei, teaching fellow, UCM / Dr. Sara De Vuyst, assistant professor in Contemporary Visual Culture, FASoS / Greta Carlevaro, student in the MA specialization Contemporary Literature and Art: Cultural Interventions and Social Justice, FASoS / Emma Hizette, student in the BA Arts & Culture, FASoS

Aim: At its first Diversity Day in 2018, Maastricht University became an official partner in the Age-Friendly University Global Network. Scholars have argued that to become more “age-friendly,” universities that inherently center on younger adults in their educational mission need a culture change. To facilitate this cultural change, our project shares the findings from research on ageism with the broader UM community through a T-shirt intervention, involving students and academic staff, younger and older people. The T-shirts are intended as conversation starters to stimulate dialogue about ageism and to prompt individuals to reflect on their own attitudes and prejudices. We hope that the intervention will raise awareness of how ageist stereotypes (as part of language practices) can be part of the university context and how they can be challenged.

We have developed short video clips that introduce the framework of the Age-Friendly University Global Network, explain what ageism is, describe the rationale of the project, and provide instructions for the project ambassadors who will wear the T-shirts and engage in fieldwork. The playlist with all four videos is available on YouTube.
 

You can also watch the video clips individually – Clip 3 and 4 are tailored to project ambassadors:

Clip 1 “The Age-Friendly University” (5 min)

10 Principles for an Age-Friendly University:

· To encourage the participation of older adults in all the core activities of the university, including educational and research programmes.

· To promote personal and career development in the second half of life and to support those who wish to pursue "second careers".

· To recognise the range of educational needs of older adults (from those who were early school-leavers through to those who wish to pursue Master's or PhD qualifications).

· To promote intergenerational learning to facilitate the reciprocal sharing of expertise between learners of all ages.

· To widen access to online educational opportunities for older adults to ensure a diversity of routes to participation.

· To ensure that the university's research agenda is informed by the needs of an ageing society and to promote public discourse on how higher education can better respond to the varied interests and needs of older adults.

· To increase the understanding of students of the longevity dividend and the increasing complexity and richness that ageing brings to our society.

· To enhance access for older adults to the university's range of health and wellness programmes and its arts and cultural activities.

· To engage actively with the university's own retired community.

· To ensure regular dialogue with organisations representing the interests of the ageing population.

Retrieved from DCU.
 

Clip 2 “What is Ageism” (9.03 min)

Clip 3 “The Intervention” (4.34 min)
 

The ageist phrasings that we aim to debunk:

I am old and waiting to retire / I am young and I am the future

Ik ben oud en kan niet wachten tot mijn pensioen / Ik ben jong en ik ben de toekomst  
 

I am old and blocking your promotion / I am young and entitled to promotion 

Ik ben oud en blokkeer jouw promotie / Ik ben jong en heb recht op promotie 
 

I am old and afraid of computers / I am young and tech savvy

Ik ben oud en digibeet / Ik ben jong en tech savvy
 

I am young and inexperienced / I am old and wise

Ik ben jong en onervaren / Ik ben oud en wijs
 

I am old and resistant to change / I am young and innovative  

Ik ben oud en hou niet van verandering / Ik ben jong en innovatief
 

I am old and lagging behind / I am young and a peak performer  

Ik ben oud en loop achter / Ik ben jong en een toppresteerder 
 

I am old and forgetful / I am young and a quick thinker 

Ik ben oud en vergeetachtig / Ik ben jong en denk snel 
 

Clip 4 “Instructions” (6.49 min)
 

Possible questions:

· What is your first impression?

· Have you heard this or a similar phrase before? If yes, in what context or situation?

· How did you react or what did you do in that case?

· How does the phrase make you feel? What thoughts does it bring up?

· What if I tell you something is wrong with this phrasing? What could be wrong with this phrasing? How do you think it could be challenged?

· Imagine replacing “young”/”old” with another identity marker. What does it make you think and how does it make you feel? What changes?
 

Suggestions for notetaking:

· Include the encounters that stood out to you and explain why.

· Try to provide detailed descriptions of these encounters.

· Explain the context of each encounter and the roles of the people involved.

· Describe what seemed particularly generative of discussion, what seemed particularly sensitive and evoked emotions or possibly controversy.

· Consider using (brief) quotes and examples to illustrate the situation.

· Make a note on your perception of the level of knowledge of ageism that people demonstrated in the encounters.

· Include the discussion on the comparison with other -isms, such as sexism or racism.

· Emphasize recurring themes and patterns that emerged in your interactions, if any.

· If you have more extensive personal reflections, consider including them as a separate section in your observations.

· We welcome further reflection on your own age identity and what wearing the T-shirt did with you.

QueerCon Maastricht invites scholars from all academic disciplines and at every stage of their academic career to come together to advance LGBTQIA+ knowledge.

The organised conference is the first of its kind in UM history, and it aims to be interdisciplinary, international, and intergenerational.

A festival that aims to celebrate and advance LGBTQIA+ inclusion and equity runs parallel to the conference. 

Date of the Conference and Festival: 1-2 July 2024
Location: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (a.o.) in Maastricht

More information on QueerCon