Active aging “critical” priority for world leaders, ICAA’s CEO to tell European sports ministers

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Colin Milner to present programs and strategies to help boost the impact of active aging in the EU over the next decade

VANCOUVER--In a keynote address at an upcoming meeting of European Union sports ministers, International Council on Active Aging (ICAA) CEO Colin Milner will caution attendees that active aging must remain a priority, even as the 2012 European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations draws to a close. Milner was invited by the board of directors of the prestigious Cyprus Sports Organisation to keynote at the September 21, 2012 gathering.

“Active aging is a key solution for many of the challenges that are associated with population aging—and we need to see it as a life span opportunity to ensure that future generations age well,” says Milner, who was asked to present on advances in active aging in North America. The meeting organizers said lessons learned from the US and Canadian experiences will inform the European ministers and assist them in developing best practices.

The keynote invitation comes on the heels of the publication of Milner’s book chapter, written in collaboration with Kay Van Norman, an ICAA Advisory Board Member and president of consulting firm Brilliant Aging, and Jenifer Milner, editor-in-chief of the Journal on Active Aging® , for the World Economic Forum (www.icaa.cc/wef.htm). Milner has served on the Swiss-based organization’s Network of Global Agenda Councils since 2008.

Milner will also present a keynote address at the upcoming World Congress on Active Ageing: A Celebration of Inclusion and Diversity in Active Ageing, which will take place in Glasgow, Scotland, August 13-17. (www.wcaa2012.com).

“The commitment of the European Union reinforces that active aging’s time has come,” Milner emphasizes. “It is not just about physical activity; active-aging embraces all the dimensions of wellness—intellectual, emotional, physical, social, vocational, spiritual and environmental—and all ages. And it is truly a global mission.”

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.

ICAA launched the Changing the Way We Age® Campaign (http://www.changingthewayweage.com) as part of the organization’s efforts to change perceptions of aging and overturn ageist stereotypes.

For questions:

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