What We Do

Age Well Academy

Our communities are stronger when they include the full scope of our energy, including the contributions of older people, individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, and individuals with disabilities.

Successfully shaping policies, practices and resource flows that support Connecticut residents across the lifespan first requires us to look at our deeply held, implicit beliefs about aging, dementia and disability.

Our 2024 Age Well Academy focuses on our campaign to disrupt ageism and ableism — Every Age, Every Ability. Join us to learn about our statewide campaign, the invitation to co-create it with us, opportunities for education and support in your community, how to adapt and locally implement your own campaign, and what inspiring efforts are happening in Connecticut to deepen a sense of belonging for all residents.

Eligible for Certified Connecticut Municipal Official Credit (CMMO) with the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM).

2024 Sessions

Special recognition will be awarded to participants who join us for all four events in 2024!

January 4, 2024

Meet Our Campaign: Disrupting Ageism and Ableism in Connecticut
This session introduces our statewide campaign to disrupt ageism and ableism: Every Age, Every Ability. We’ll examine the pervasive and sometimes unseen nature of ageism and ableism. We’ll share current campaign visuals and discuss our community-informed process that guided their creation. And we’ll underscore that these moment-in-time products are not “the finished campaign,” but rather a catalyst toward statewide conversation, local inspiration, and ongoing feedback.

March 7, 2024

Opportunities for Education and Support on Disrupting Ageism and Ableism
In this session, find out how your community can host a “Daring Dialogue” on ageism and ableism; empower residents with lived experience to apply for our locally-based Community Leaders Fellowship; and display our traveling exhibit. We celebrate local governments and their community partners as respected and important change agents in this work.

May 9, 2024

Launching Our Municipal Toolkit: A “How To” Set of Resources on Disrupting Ageism and Ableism
This session focuses on ways you can get involved and join our movement to disrupt ageism and ableism. We’ll reveal our new book, A Kids Book About Ageism, and introduce the authors — sharing the story of how we created the book by combining lived and cultivated experience into a powerful process and end product. We’ll also learn from community members who are building momentum and breaking down bias by downloading and using our Every Age, Every Ability conversation guide and hosting Daring Dialogue community workshops.

September 12, 2024

Announcing AgeWellFest!
Our September Age Well Academy will now be an in-person event on the Meriden Green! Please join us for AgeWellFest — a first-of-its-kind, in-person experiential learning opportunity for every Connecticut community. Municipal leaders, staff, commission members, community stakeholders, policymakers, nonprofits — and anyone else interested in fostering more aging, dementia, and disability-inclusive communities — are invited to a day of connection, engaging education, and fun.

More to Explore

Listen to Our Musical Theme

At the Collaborative, we even sing about aging! We commissioned the incredibly talented Jeff McQuillan to compose and perform our musical theme, We Age Well. The song captures the spirit of celebration and vibrancy that we hope to inspire in communities across Connecticut.

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