ICAA announces theme for Active Aging Week

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In 2011, Active Aging Week, the International Council on Active Aging’s annual observance promoting a healthy and meaningful life, is being held from September 25 - Oct 1.

VANCOUVER--Active Aging Week, the annual observance developed by the International Council on Active Aging®, is held each year during the last week of September. Organized locally, Active Aging Week is celebrated nationally in the United States and Canada. The message is universal: people can live as fully as possible throughout the life span.

Observance:
Active Aging Week

Theme:
Expand your experience

Key messages:
Engage in activities you value
Spend 30 minutes each day in physical activity

Format:
Activities chosen and presented by local hosts
Free to older adults
Emphasis on fun, camaraderie and education

Dates:
Sept. 25 – Oct. 1, 2011

The theme “Expand your experience” was chosen to reflect the many experiences Active Aging Week hosts offer older adults, and to recognize that engaging in new and rewarding experiences contribute to mental and physical health.

Local hosts of Active Aging Week have organized diverse activities, ranging from group walks to balloon rides, lectures on the aging process to scavenger hunts, competitive Wii and softball games to T’ai Chi and classical music performances.

“Active Aging Week has a track record of counteracting negative stereotypes of aging,” explains Colin Milner, CEO of International Council on Active Aging. “The week’s focus is on what older adults CAN do, not on what they cannot or ‘should not’ do. By expanding their experiences, participants find the activities that have meaning for them, and maintain their health so they can pursue their avocations.”
Support materials for professionals who will host one or more Active Aging Week events are available on the ICAA website.

In 2011, the sponsors of Active Aging Week are Aegis Therapies, Matrix Fitness, New Balance Athletic Shoe and 24 Hour Fitness.

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About the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA)
The International Council on Active Aging® is the professional association that leads, connects and defines the active-aging industry. ICAA supports professionals who develop wellness facilities, programs and services for adults over 50. The association is focused on active aging—an approach to aging that helps older adults live as fully as possible within all dimensions of wellness (i.e., physical, social, environmental, vocational, intellectual, emotional and spiritual)—and provides its members with education, information, resources and tools.

As an active-aging educator and advocate, ICAA has advised numerous organizations and governmental bodies, including the US Administration on Aging, the National Institute on Aging (one of the US National Institutes of Health), the US Department of Health and Human Services, Canada’s Special Senate Committee on Aging, European Commission, and the British Columbia ministries of Health, and Healthy Living and Sport.

For interviews please contact:

Contact: Colin Milner, CEO, ICAA
Toll-free: 1-866-335-9777 (North America)
Telephone: 604-734-4466; cell: 604-763-4595
colinmilner@icaa.cc

Contact: Marilynn Larkin
Communications Director, ICAA
212-315-3301
mlarkin@icaa.cc