CONSUMER CHOICE
It’s More Important Every Day J
anine Vanderburg is the director of Changing the Narrative (changingth-
enarrative.org), a Colorado-based
communications and awareness campaign designed to increase understanding of age- ism and to change how people think, talk, and act about aging and ageism. With three decades of experience in community and social change, Vanderburg is a certified Re- framing Aging master trainer, trained by the Frameworks Institute to deliver workshops on how to use research-based strategic com- munications to shift negative and inaccurate perceptions about aging.
Q. Why do you think ageism is such a critical topic today—and what has drawn you personally to the topic? Ageism is a problem that we can and must solve. Across the world, people are living longer and, for the most part, healthier lives, and our systems and policies haven’t kept up. We can use our ingenuity to innovate the way things are done, so that people can thrive regardless of age, identity, or zip code. I do think the pandemic has had an im- pact on increasing the number of people talking about ageism. Those of us who are older and who maybe hadn’t thought about ageism that much started to see it play out around us and personally affect us and those we care about and started thinking: Time to get involved. I’m personally drawn to the topic because
I’m someone who has always believed that everyone should be able to fully use their strengths and potential. So I get angry when I see people pushed aside in the workplace, talked over in a doctor’s office, ignored in a store or coffee shop. And that makes me want to do something about it—to fight to end ageism.
Q. Can you discuss how Changing the Narrative is tackling the issue? At Changing the Narrative, we counter ageism on multiple fronts. A few examples of what we do: • Train those in organizations serving older adults, influencers, and media in effective research- based, age-inclusive messaging.
• Research and public policy advocacy on issues like workforce age discrimination.
• Social media campaigns calling atten- tion to the value that older adults bring to the community and workforce if we don’t allow ageism to get in the way.
• Sponsoring special campaigns like our anti-ageist birthday card campaign to illustrate how popular culture both re- flects and reinforces ageist attitudes.
• Mobilizing people to take action. For ex- ample, using a train the trainers model, we’re currently training older adults to educate other older adults, health care professionals, and students entering health professions, on ageism in health care and concrete actions they can take.
Q. What’s different about your approach? Ageism is pervasive and entrenched in all elements of society. We can’t rely on the “experts” to solve this problem for us. At Changing the Narrative, we believe that we all can and must be “AGEnts” of change, and so we provide people with the tools and training to lead to change in their own networks and communities.
Q. What are major obstacles to progress? That ageism is so pervasive and accepted, both among otherwise well-meaning indi- viduals and in society overall. Researchers talk about unconscious or implicit bias: Because of messages we’ve received from childhood on, we subconsciously form neg- ative judgments about people based on their age. But just being aware of these biases makes us less likely to act on them.
Q. Is there a brighter future ahead in this area? I am essentially an optimistic person, and here’s what I’m optimistic about right now. There are campaigns in many countries to educate people about ageism and to change public policy to reflect changing demo- graphics. We are part of those conversations and efforts. There is lots of work to do, and at the same time, more and more individ- uals and organizations who are willing to lend their voices and roll up their sleeves. We can do this.
People are living longer—and for the most part healthier— lives, and our systems and policies haven’t kept up.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022
ARGENTUM.ORG 31
To Get Anti-Ageist Message Across By Tom Greshen
Change Agent Profile
Janine Vanderburg Director & Chief Catalyst Changing the Narrative
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