ICAA’s Colin Milner to bring active-aging insights to two major international forums

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VANCOUVER--Milner invited to participate in World Economic Forum in Dubai; will also present video address to European Union health officials in July

Colin Milner, founder and CEO of the International Council on Active Aging® (ICAA) will take part in the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s Summit of the Global Agenda , to be held November 12-14 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. According to the WEF, the summit “is the world’s largest brainstorming meeting, aimed at shaping the global agenda by bringing together the most relevant thought leaders of the WEF’s Network of Global Agenda Councils.” In conjunction with the summit invitation, Milner was invited for the fifth consecutive year to be a global advisor in the network.

For the 2012 meeting, the WEF has charged participants with focusing on ways “to transform new models into collaborative, sustained processes, which drive solutions for a greener and socially more inclusive world.” Milner intends to leverage his role in the network and at the summit “to help raise awareness of the growing global older-adult population and the need to explore sustainable solutions to accommodating them in cities and communities around the world,” he says. “We must also identify evidence-based programs that promote healthy active aging, and programs that foster older adults’ continuing contribution to world economies, both as workers and consumers.” As part of its mission to change society’s perceptions of aging and improving the quality of life for older adults, ICAA is building its Changing the Way We Age® Campaign, launched late last year.

Milner’s recognized expertise and role as a global active-aging “ambassador” also led to an invitation to address thought leaders at a July 3 meeting in Ipswich, United Kingdom. The meeting is being held under the umbrella of “Progress Towards Healthy Ageing in Europe,” a project funded by the European Union Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity (PROGRESS). Milner will present trends in active aging via video to help inform decision makers involved in pilot interventions in workplaces across Europe. “The overarching aim of these interventions is to encourage and support individuals in leading healthier, more active lives,” Milner says.

“In many ways, Europe is ahead of North America with initiatives, such as those that emerged from the 65th World Health Assembly, which support the concept of active-aging on a large scale,” Milner observes. “Part of my personal mission is to bring the learnings from my involvement in these global undertakings to active-aging professionals, health care professionals, business people, and members of government and academia who can then fold this information into their current and future health and wellness projects, here and abroad.”

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