Prof. Liat Ayalon talks about the goals of ‘A Site for All Ages.’
Prof. Ayalon
Head of the Impact Center for Ageism and Old Age
Illustrations by Arava Benita (Liat Ayalon’s daughter), January 2021
Although I am a scholar in the field of old age, it nevertheless took me almost a decade to get involved in the subject of Ageism. One such precipitator was my discovery that the term ageism now had a Hebrew equivalent, which gave me a better understanding of its context in our day-to-day lives and in research. Instead of just twenty minutes in the course of a lecture, I began to devote far more time to exploring the phenomenon called ageism. As I understand the subject today, it is impossible to study, research or work in the field of old age without a good grasp of Ageism.
In my opinion, Ageism is important because it completely colors our emotions, behavior and thoughts about people, based on their age. One cannot work in the field without a clear recognition of the place Ageism has in our lives and of those that surround us, young and old alike. Similarly, one cannot study the field without serious consideration of the way Ageism – a social phenomenon that crosses borders, continents and age-lines – affects all our lives, and especially those of old people.
The purpose of this site is to make the subject of Ageism accessible to the general public, scholars and professionals in the field, and policy-stakeholders. Our hope is that visitors to the website will learn about Ageism, the ways in which it can be identified in society, its inherent dangers, and the various ways of eliminating it. The guiding principle of the site is that knowledge and awareness can change reality. By changing the way we think, act and feel about people because of their age, we can look forward to living in a world for all ages, in which age is not an obstacle to realizing one’s potential.
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