Latino Gerontological Center - Education - Inter National Hispanic Aging

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EDUCATION

Sharing the knowledge.
Conferences - Seminars - Workshops.
Faculty.
For Achives Click Here

Another dimensions of our educational outreach are conferences and seminars. The goal of these events is to provide a forum to address the varying issues affecting Latino seniors. We often collaborate with other organizations in the development of conferences and seminars.

Conferences

CGL organized the first Northeastern Conference on Hispanic Elderly in Hartford, CT in 1992.

CGL organized in collaboration with the Catholic University of Valparaíso, the first Inter-American Conference on Gerontology, which was held in Viña del Mar, Chile, October 19-22, 1994. The United Nations Programme on Ageing and the Foreign Relations Ministry of the Republic of Chile supported this important inter-hemispheric event.

We held a national conference between March 23 and 25, 1995, entitled, "The State of Nutrition and Entitlements: The Forgotten Citizen." Sanctioned as a 1995 White House Conference on Aging, 250 Latino seniors and professionals from all regions of the country attended. A report on the conference findings was disseminated throughout the City, nationally, and to national policy makers and funders concerned with the status of Latino elderly.

LGC held the Second Inter-American Conference on Gerontology, focusing on hunger during the years 2000 and 2001. It took place in different areas of North, Centro and South America.

We work in conjunction with a number of public and private agencies as well as community based organizations in providing for the needs of the elderly. Some of them are:

Alamo Area Council of Governments, San Antonio, TX · ASI, Chicago, IL · Casa Boricua Senior Center, Bronx, NY · Casita Maria, Inc., New York, NY · Council of Senior Centers of New York · Edward R. Roybal Institute for Applied Gerontology, Los Angeles, CA · Goodard Riverside Community Center, New York, NY · Hispanic Family Center, Camden, NJ · Hispanic Providers Council, Chicago, IL · Instituto Puertorriqueño/Hispano para Personas Mayores, New York, NY · Latino Elderly, Inc., Orlando, FL · Milwaukee County Department on Aging, Milwaukee, WI · Morris County Organization for Hispanic Affairs, Dover, NJ · Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY · National Diversity Concepts, Washington, D.C. · Norris Square Senior Center, Philadelphia, PA · New Jersey Division on Aging · New York City Department for the Aging · New York State Office for the Aging · Project S.O.S., Bronx Community College, Bronx, NY · Saint Vincent de Paul Residence, Bronx, NY · Sociedad de Gerontología de Puerto Rico · Southside Care Management & Home Care, Brooklyn, NY · University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX.

Seminars

Series of Community Education Courses

LGC has been conducting Seminars since 1999

Older Latinos Gave Best Mark to CGL's Courses

With the active participation of Latino seniors, caregivers and professionals coming from Queens, Brooklyn, South Bronx and East Harlem (Barrio), the series of free community educational seminars offered by CGL have continued.

The first courses were held during the Spring of 1999, one versed on the importance for Latinos to participate in the Census 2000, particularly due to the undercount experienced by Latinos in the census of 1990, in the second course the effects of Alzheimer's Disease on the Latino family.

FACULTY

LGC has been extremely fortunate to have a faculty of excellence, which includes the following outstanding professionals:

Ms. Carmen Aponte (PR)
Dr. Steven Applewhite (Tex)
Dr. María Aranda (PR)
Ms. Lourdes Birba (Cu)
Ms. Bethsaida Colón (PR)
Ms. Doris Colón (PR)
Dr. David Espino (Tex)
Mr. Angelo Falcón (PR)
Ms. Elizabeth Figueroa (PR)
Mr. Fernando Fernández (Cu)
Mr. Ray Figueroa (PR)
Dr. Celina Gómez (Mex)
Dr. Raúl Gutiérrez (Mex)
Dr. Adela Herrera (Ch)
Prof. Gladys Jiménez (Ch)
Dr. Rafael Lantigua (RD)
Dr. Nelson Peralta (RD)
Dr. Fernando Morales (CR)
Prof. Carlos Navarrete (Ch)
Prof. Marialcira Quintero (Ve)
Prof. Diana Román (PR)
Dr. Carlos Rueda (Col)
Dr. Melba Sánchez-Ayendez (PR)
Dr. Carmen D. Sánchez (PR)
Ms. Melissa Talamantes (Tex)
Dr. Fernando Torres-Gil (Cal)
Mr. Jorge Vázquez (PR)
Ms. Sara Vidal (RD)

Conference Findings

LATINO GERONTOLOGICAL CENTER
&
CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF VALPARAISO
FIRST INTER-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ON GERONTOLOGY
October 19-22, 1994
Viña del Mar, Chile

(1) THE DIAGNOSTIC

Life expectancy increases on a daily basis; scientific advances, particularly in the area of health, has resulted, amongst other aspects of the world reality, that the American Continent is Aging; every country ought to get prepared before this demographic reality. We are going through an epidemical transitional period. In other words, the older adult population is increasing in greater proportion than the rest of the population.

However, the quantitative variables do not always coincide with the qualitatives in the development of the community.

In general, it is possible to visualize, taking into consideration the unique characteristics of each nation, the following reality:

1.1. There is an awakening of the older persons population, and although incipient, there is a greater sensitivity; however we cannot say with certainty that there are advances in public policy and a holistic way approach in the design of short, medium and long run, objectives, goals and strategies for the coming years. Governments are not recognizing this situation, and there is not much time left.

In the absence of public policies and the lack of implemented methodologies, the existence of private initiatives can be observed which should be infused into the institutional and national context.

1.2. In the reality of our older persons we observe the co-existence of two diametrically opposed situations:

a) Older persons, whose vital experience have been oriented toward permanent education and to their personal and cultural development.
b) Older persons who live marginal lives, abandoned and mistreated.

It can be concluded that, despite the enhanced awareness about the aged in America, the quality of life of many older persons will continue to be marginal.

1.3. Given the dramatic increase of this segment of the population, it is clear that the participation of well trained professionals that can address the multiple needs of this population is insufficient. This implies that the discussion, does not reach, at this moment, the required multi-disciplinary status.

(2) ABOUT THE EXPERIENCES OF OLDER ADULTS IN AMERICA

One of the purposes of this conference was to exchange experiences and the discussion of a series of actions regarding education, health, recreation, community and public planning, thus resulting in strategies and plans to develop methodologies for improving the quality of life for older adults.

During these days we have enriched ourselves by the innovative programs, which are having a positive effect on the elderly. Specifically in Venezuela, U.S.A., Puerto Rico, Brasil and Chile.

We shared the following experiences:

Venezuela:
Course for Caregivers
Children Program:What it means to be old?

Puerto Rico:
CAMIRA Program
Older Adults as Resources in the Family

U.S.A.:
Latino Gerontological Center
Chronicle on Older Adults in a New York Union

Brasil:
The Groups of "La plaza"

Chile:
Programa Educación para Adultos Mayores de la UCV
CONAPRAM - CARITAS DIOCESANA V Region
Program of Physical Education and Health of Municipality of Nu–oa and Universidad Metropolitana
Program of Health for the Older Adult of the V Region: "La Paz de la Tarde"
AM and EF Programs of DIGEDER, and EFI UCV in the V Region
Health Program of the Municipal Corporation of Valparaíso

(3) PROJECTIONS AND CHALLENGES FOR OLDER PERSONS IN THE FUTURE OF AMERICA

We have corroborated the value of our elders, we have confirmed that they are a fountain of wisdom and a faithful testimony of our most precious traditions.

Which are the challenges and projections that we envision from here?

3.1. The need to create a new stage for older adults; this will require a societal effort, particularly in areas of Education, Health, Recreation, Community and Public Policy, that allows us to provide dignity and value to the Older Adult in our society.

3.1.1. EDUCATION

Education is an ever evolving process that serves to guide us in our personal and professional life goals. This takes on greater meaning as we mature into our golden age years because the responsibility of our educational development fall into our own hands. The majority of programs of assistance, should emphasize education. This implies fundamentally:

a) The designing of educational policies and implementation of coherent programs regarding the challenge to Learn to Age and to cultivate the inter-generational relationship since infancy.

b) The designing of educational policies and implementation of coherent programs regarding the educational needs of the Older Adults of America.

3.1.2 HEALTH

Starting from an integral concept of health (which signifies quality of spiritual life, physical, mental, social and economic well being) it was proposed:

a) Preventive programs that emphasise the search for healthy life styles. This implies the implementation of health promotion since the beginning of life.

b) An interdisciplinary professional occupation based in the modern concept of health.

c) Programs that promote the older person's health care in their home and the community, oriented toward the development of their autonomy, as well as, in relation to their functional health; in other words, vision care, hearing, hands, feet, mobility and mental health.

3.1.3. RECREATION

Recreation helps the Older Adult to develop her/his full potential. One of the main issues is the use of free time. Culturally, free time has meaning and depth: It is the creative moment. This is the time that we become more humans.

The value of free time is now a challenge.

The challenge is to create conditions where culture, arts, physical activities and entertainment allow that the principles of independence, participation, self-realization and dignity get concretized in every reality of the Older Person of America.

3.1.4. COMMUNITY

Each individual, is a being that lives his/her existence in communion with others; his dialogic capacity help him to do and to make himself in the community. Also, the different worlds of interaction where he participates and develops, are meeting spaces which generate environment and opportunity to concretize his happiness, satisfaction, self fulfillment and transcendence.

Which is our responsibility as community?

- A decisive action of the governmental instance, to economically implement the proposed actions.

- A preventive action, identifying situations of risk.

- An educative action within the family and with the older adults in the community.

- A coordinated action between the community, the institutions of public service, and professionals.

This implies from the professional perspective the consolidation of a criteria that allows the study, research and academic exchange between the countries of America regarding this issue.

Thus, those findings can provide us with the background information when defining culturally competent models, which from a macro vision of the human development, and going through the analysis of the different levels of living and social systems, we can identify in every area, the need of the older person's population.

Therefore, allowing us to design and to implement feasible programs which are coherent with our cultural reality.

3.1.4. PUBLIC POLICY

The individual, in his vocation of service turns to the Polis projecting himself to his community in a constructive manner; the challenge in this sense is for everyone of us, in a way that our action nurture those representatives of local and national government; the need that they observe the reality, find out, and reflect regarding the variables that affect the development of the older persons. For them to study alternatives of solution and to participate in a decisive way in the implementation of viable strategies; thus, we, the inhabitants of America, can live and grow up with equity and quality.

II Conferencia

CONCLUSIONS OF LGC'S II INTER AMERICAN CONFERENCE ON GERONTOLOGY WERE SHARED WITH GOVERNMENTS OF THE AMERICAS. A BOOK IS BEING PREPARED


Partial view of participants at LGC's 2^nd Conference on Gerontology

Soon Conference Conclusions Here
Spanish version

New York, May 2001.- Experts from every corner of the continent took part in the Wrap-Up Sessions of the Second Inter American Conference on Gerontology of the Latino Gerontological Center, "Hunger and Aging: A Rising Double Challenge." This was held in Cupey, Puerto Rico from April 25-27, 2001, co-sponsored by the Universidad Metropolitana and the Gerontological Society of Puerto Rico.

Experts from United States, México, Costa Rica, Argentina and Chile reported on the three regional meetings that were held during 2000 in North, Centro and South America. Also, representatives from Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico presented the newest demographic data and nutritional indexes for the Caribbean.


Dr. Fernando Morales from the National Geriatric Hospital of Costa Rica; Sandra Blau representative of Philip Morris; Mrs. Lorena de Rodríguez, First Lady of Costa Rica and Mario Tapia, LGC.

The total number of participants was: 1350, presentors were: 90, local organizers: 150.

Everyone coincided that, for the good of the millions conforming the Latino elderly of the Continent, all sessions were very productive.

The Conference was partially funded by Philip Morris Companies.

The First Inter American Conference on Gerontology was held in Chile, 1994, at which experts from seven American countries participated.

EDUCATION

Conferences

Seminars

FACULTY

ARCHIVES

Conference Findings