Imagine: Unlocking the potential of elderly well-being through volunteering activities
Imagine a future where one in four people in Asia-Pacific is over 60. That's our reality by 2050. With the population of older persons (aged over 60) in the region tripling between 2010 and 2050, reaching close to 1.3 billion people.[1] As people live longer and have fewer children, this major demographic shift will become one of the most significant social transformations of the twenty-first century, with implications for nearly all sectors of society, family structures and inter-generational ties.[2]
Good relationships, a sense of purpose in life, and meaningful connections with others were among the most important factors that bolster the health of older adults worldwide.[3] However, social isolation and loneliness are widespread issues affecting people of all ages – including older individuals[4].
Are we ready to embrace agency and seize different volunteering opportunities that can help in elderly well-being while maintaining purposeful and healthy lives?
Building a volunteering community for social engagement
Inspired by the butterfly effect theory that our small actions can create ripples of positive change, a team of ten passionate volunteering colleagues were given the opportunity to lead and curate a nine-months social engagement B-Effect program.
The program creates a community of change makers who make a sustainable social impact at work. By co-creating solutions with Ashoka and its network of social entrepreneurs involved in the health arena, we can contribute more meaningfully with our skills and expertise.
“As I journey ahead in life, how can I master and lead a productive life? As a caregiver at home, how can I appreciate and communicate more effectively about health with my loved ones?, How can we come together to support the seniors who have been left behind in our communities? These are some of the motivations that inspire me to contribute and rally colleagues to join in, learn and seek solutions together." says Wulan (Febriani Ambarwulan), Global Facilities and Engineering (GFE) Manager and B-Effect representative for Indonesia
Enhancing elderly well-being across generations
Guided by the program framework, the organizing team narrowed their project focus: How can we prepare and promote inter-generational connections within our local communities to ensure vulnerable older persons have access to supportive social environments?
More than 100 employees across the region took part in a series of learning and design thinking seminars to propose solutions to existing operational topics faced by social entrepreneurs in the elderly well-being domain, such as Alzheimer’s Indonesia, Techie Seniors and Carers Worldwide.
The exchange of ideas and cross-sector sharing ultimately produced the ‘Match & Chat’ game. This simple interactive activity, enjoyed by all ages, aims to encourage cross-generational bonding and dialogue. The game could be utilized by anyone, anywhere – at home, at the workplace and in community settings.
By incorporating conversation prompts about past successes, interests, and future ambitions, the game elevates the traditional memory matching card game. It serves as an effective tool to deepen empathy and mutual respect amongst generations while also improving mental agility.
Addressing systemic challenges to elderly well-being
Indeed, teamwork is required to address the systemic challenges to elderly well-being with a focus on longevity. The program aims to find synergies to tackle the multifaceted issues that social entrepreneurs face, hindering the advancement of their social mission, and to scale-up our local efforts to build quality opportunities for inter-generational connections.
Through B-Effect, we've made significant strides. We've developed a 'Match & Chat' game. This game promotes meaningful social ties between different generations in families and communities. Over 100 employees volunteered at eldercare facilities in Southeast Asia, South Korea, and Australia. The same number of employees also attended learning and design thinking seminars. These seminars were led by five social entrepreneurs specializing in the longevity field.
“Giving back to society is contagious. The B-Effect program is a social engagement initiative with volunteering activities which allow us to offer our ideas to make an impact in a more sustainable way while providing development opportunities for our employees,” says Prof. Dr. Joerg Kreuzer, Medical Director, Human Pharma, ROPU ASKAN (ASEAN, Korea, Australia & New Zealand). “This complements our efforts in the health equity space and builds on our commitment to co-create healthy, inclusive and sustainable communities.“
As they say, life is not determined by the cards you were dealt but how you play your hand. We need to reframe our perspectives on ageing, create supportive and inclusive environments that enable people to thrive as valued contributors, regardless of age.
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[1] UNFPA Asiapacific | Ageing
[2] 200930_unfpa_ageing_catalouge_layout-3.pdf
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