Pre-Conference Event

Crossing Currents: Building Community Networks to Confront Ageism—Learning Together Through Collaboration

Thursday October 15, 2026
9:00am – 12:00pm

No registration fee, but pre-registration is required.

This session is offered in English only.

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Presenters

Session Description

Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Workshop Format

  • Dr. Olive Bryanton/UPEI Health Research Network

  • Dr. Jessica Strong/UPEI Faculty of Arts, Department of Psychology

Communities across Canada are seeking new ways to confront ageism while strengthening social inclusion and improving quality of life for older adults. Prince Edward Island is developing a province-wide network that connects grassroots communities through regional hubs. These hubs are designed to facilitate two-way communication: bringing resources, education, and training into communities while ensuring that the experiences, challenges, and innovative ideas of local residents inform provincial action.

Because this network is still under development, workshop participants will become collaborators rather than observers. Through facilitated discussions and small-group activities, participants will share their experiences in developing collaborative networks, sustaining partnerships, engaging communities, and creating effective communication systems.

Together, we will explore how local knowledge can inform provincial action and how coordinated networks can become powerful tools for confronting ageism.

  1. Identify how ageism appears in community systems and everyday practice

  2. Explore key functions of collaborative community hubs

  3. Contribute ideas for communication, coordination, and engagement in a provincial network

By the end of the workshop, participants will:

  1. Describe how lived experience strengthens network design and decision-making

  2. Generate practical insights that can inform next steps in network development and be adapted to participants home jurisdiction

Based on the objectives the format of the workshop will be a minority of didactic presentation (background on ageism and networks combating ageism and elder abuse across Canada), with a bulk of the workshop spent in table discussion and sharing knowledge.