2 The oldest old subgroup proportionally the fastest growing group

1. The dimension of future in old age: promoting healthy and active aging with older women in Portugal Isabella Paoletti, CLUNL, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal

2. 2 The oldest old subgroup • proportionally the fastest growing group • Many older people underscore the time they have left to live • they often just hope for the time to go by • old age category are associated to bad health, decline, frailty etc. • old age category attribution become often self fulfilling prophecy

3. 3 The importance of a positive sense of the future for older people Berlin declaration on the quality of life for older adults” reads: “Solid evidence from decades of cognitive training research has shown that there is enormous plasticity of functioning—within biological limits. Particularly, the ages between 60 and 80 offer a late possibility to avoid or compensate normative losses of functioning by intervention.” (Fernandez-Ballesteros et al. 2009, 50).

4. Physical and mental decline are not an ineluctable destiny, there is space for intervention. • Mental and physical ability can be retained and also recuperated. • aging well is above all a right • active and healthy aging also contributes to a sustainable development

5. 5 Sociolinguistic Studies on age categorizations and identity work • Different perceptions of oneself as an older person involve considerable differences in the definition of the person’s possible sphere of action, and therefore, in their life perspectives. (Coupland, Coupland and Grainger, 1991; Paoletti, 1998)

6. Age membership categories • Distancing from the category or denial of aging, speakers project a positive personal identity for themselves (Coupland and Coupland, 1989). • The association with the detrimental characteristics of the category, are often used to justify limitations (Coupland, Coupland and Giles, 1989)

7. Age membership categories • It is during concrete, ordinary occasions that older people either get trapped in stereotypic constructions that limit and restrict themselves, or are able to skillfully play with categories, producing a “space” for positive self-images, announcing new and exciting life perspectives

8. 4 The Project APSE: “Aging, poverty and social exclusion: an interdisciplinary study on innovative support services” • Data include: • 1) 50 semi-structured interviews to social workers, services coordinators, presidents of older people associations, coordinators of civil societies initiatives; • 2) Ethnographic documentation of social intervention involving older people, among them: “Atelier of self-awareness on the topic of “future” • 3) relevant documents and legislation.

9. 9 Aim of the paper: to describe the structure of the activity: Atelier of self-awareness on the topic of “future” to show how the resistance to age categorization is done by the professional in the course of the interaction in the Atelier

10. 10 The structure of the Atelier • 3 sessions: • 1) To understand the participants’ perspective on their age (chronological age, physical age, personal age, how many years are left?) • 2)To understand the projects, dreams, ideas that were postponed along the years • 3) to discuss how they are going to spend the years they haveleft to live

11. 6Transcript1: 1 P1 don’t you have anything you want [to ] achie[ve? 2 (P) [↑no] 3 E [↑no I don’t have 4 anything to achieve I feel fulfilled (0.6) 5 C do you?= 6 P2 =[she fulf]illed her dreams 7 E [ ↑ I do!] 8 C nobody is completely [fulfilled] 9 P1 [she did] 10 E [two imp]eccable children two 11 daughters in law more or less so an impeccable 12 grand children oh dear I am as I should be (1.4) 13 P3 I feel complete (0.2) 14 E I feel complete yes certainly

12. 12 Transcript 2: 1C we have two solutions we stay there 2 ruminating on the fact that it is bad and it 3 is negative and of being alone and of 4 keeping being alone and of “I’ll keep 5 being alone until I die” 6 [ I am sad because I am alone 7P1[oh(.) it is most certainly so 8C (.) and I am sad because I am alone and 9 I am going to stay at home I don’t like to 10 talk to anybody” we can spend the rest 11 of seventy and how many years? (0.5)

13. 13 Transcript 2 13 P2 and one (0.4) 14 P3 seventy one (0.7) 15 (P) you are still young 18 C well (0.3) seventy one um there are people that- until 19 one hundred and twenty years[ms Amelia can live fifty 20 years more (0.4) 21 (P) [↑ i::! 22 (P) a[ishh 23 P4 [one hundred and twenty and um (.) good spare me] 24(P) [ my good 25 P5 ready for the woodworm (0.3) HE (.) ha hahahahaha 26 C you can keep mulling over this for fifty years 27 P3 how horrible 28 C mummified for fifty years (.) then you go to the cemetery 29 after being mummified ((general laugh))

14. 13 Transcript 3 1C [thirty years ↑are many] years 2P1 [100 and 100 and two ] 3P2 It is almost a life time (>ms<) doctor 4C <thirty [years> (0.5) <this perspecti]ve 5(P) [( ) also ( ) ] 6 C (0.6) listen (0.3) this perspective listen this perspective 7 of the thirty years (0.4) isn’t it? (0.3) You can mull about 8 it for thirty years (0.6) if you like (.) you have that option 9 (0.6) don’t you? (0.4) or you have another ↑option (0.4), 10 don’t you? (.) now I am here alone, I’d rather not to be 11 alone (0.5) what can I do about it? (1.0) right? (0.4) 12(P) home 13 P3 ↑you can go (dancing) (0.5) 14 P4 with (your/uncle) Elio 15 C you can get more friends more friends

15. 23 Conclusion • It is important not to underscore the power of categorization in order to defeat ageism • A sense of future and projects are an important component of successful aging • No active aging but purposeful aging • The future in old age: a life plan after 60