We want to contribute to ensuring that people remain engaged in society and can remain socially active into advanced age, if they so desire. This creates opportunities for older individuals and for society as a whole. Much wisdom, knowledge, and experience remain underutilized. We explicitly focus on individuals in less privileged environments and aim to contribute to an inclusive society.
Crucial to this is the perception of aging and old age; we examine this, study and apply ways to foster a more nuanced and positive light of older age and ageing. Additionally, our increasing life expectancy calls for a revision of entrenched ideas about life trajectories and for intergenerational contact. Leyden Academy aims to explore and propose ideas and alternatives for this, including in the following areas.
Perceptions of aging and old age
What are our perceptions of aging? How do we view older individuals, and how do they view themselves? Our society harbors many conscious and unconscious positive and negative prejudices that can hinder ageing well. We investigate the desires and ambitions that individuals have for themselves, how and from whom they want to receive support, and how they feel about aging.
Furthermore, we want to better understand the perceptions of old age. We also explore how we can influence these perceptions, for example, through connecting younger and older generations in ways that contribute to connections across generations.
Activities:
Perceptions of aging and old age
Approaching older individuals and intergenerational support
Experienced employees in aged care
Stories of Covid-19
Silver starters
Podcast platform “de Luistermap”
Older job seekers
Caring stories
Intergenerational connection
In our society, young people and older individuals seem to rarely encounter each other. As we know, unfamiliarity breeds contempt: there are many prejudices on both sides. Research shows that stereotypes can be adjusted when there is personal, long-term, and equal contact. Leyden Academy undertakes various activities aimed at examining and improving perceptions by stimulating encounters between different age groups. We also explore perceptions of older adult care and how young and experienced workers view older adult care. We uncover their motivations and, together with them, develop interventions and projects to retain staff for aged care and attract new employees.
Activities:
Generation Mixer
Hidden Connections
Intergenerational living
Connected through dance
Summer visits
Inclusive society
In what ways can and do older individuals become more involved in society? How do we ensure that all older individuals who wish to do so can play the roles they desire? We investigate the conditions for a society that is inclusive, one that takes into account each other’s wishes, needs, and talents. An environment conducive to older individuals, especially for those who find themselves in more challenging circumstances. In various projects, we examine the impact of local initiatives on the lives, social relationships, and well-being of older individuals. We also consolidate the wealth of knowledge about working with older individuals in practice through dynamic knowledge syntheses. Furthermore, we develop projects with and for people in vulnerable situations, such as older individuals who struggle with reading and writing, have lower capability in Dutch, or have a smaller budget, to understand how they experience aging, what they find important, and what we can do to enhance their prospects of ageing well. We believe it is important to recognize the diversity among older individuals and to give them a voice.
Activities:
Loneliness and connection
FRIEND – making friends in later life
LGBTQ+ older individuals
Social inclusion of older individuals with lower SES
Aging with a migration background
Culture-sensitive care
Digital skills of seniors with a Moroccan background
Stories of older migrants
Together against loneliness
Dilemmas of diversity
Older women
From work to retirement
Older individuals with a migration background
An increasing number of Dutch older individuals were born abroad, for example, in Suriname, Indonesia, Turkey, Morocco, Germany, or Poland. We investigate how they experience aging. How do they perceive their (care) needs, desires, and aspirations? How can we enhance their well-being and positively influence the perception of older migrants? In various activities, we collaborate with older individuals with a migration background to contribute to social connection and inclusion. We explicitly pay attention to the growing diversity among older individuals with a migration background.
For more information, please contact Jolanda Lindenberg.