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E-book Silver Empowerment : Fostering Strengths and Connections for an Age-Friendly Society

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Penilaian

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With the introduction of the concept ‘Silver Empowerment’, we would like to express our vision on older people. In the psychology of colours, silver represents reflection and illumination, opening new doors, a change of direction for the future. Silver is also associated with characteristics such as calmness, sensitivity and looking for the best in others (Scott-Kemmis, n.d.). ‘Silver Empowerment’ aims to counteract the dominant image of ageing, which is all too often one of decline, loss, dependency and vulnerability. This ‘ageism’ image is problematic because the way we think about ageing influences the way we deal and socialise with older persons. W hen we consider older persons as unproductive members of society who are unable to participate, we also consciously – or not – exclude them from participating. With a fresh silver image, we want to move away from the dominant grey image of older persons as dependent, passive citizens.‘Silver Empowerment’ strives to provide opportunities for each person to grow old with dignity and meaning, warmly connected to a society that invites them to participate. In contrast to the World Health Organization’s concept of ‘active ageing’, which justly emphasises society’s responsibility to provide opportunities for older persons to participate in social, political and economic activities (Foster & Walker, 2015), Silver Empowerment does not overlook realities of social inequality, vulnerability and disadvantage, nor does it impose a singular ideal of how older people should live. Instead, Silver Empowerment seeks to expand meaningful choices through which older people can maximally gain mastery over their own lives.Unfortunately, to this day too much is done for older persons, and too little is done by and with older persons. Therefore, Silver Empowerment emphasises the need to appeal more to the strengths and capacities of older persons, without neglecting their vulnerabilities. According to the empowerment paradigm, people gain strength and grow through connections, and inversely strength results in more connections. Indeed, research has repeatedly shown that social relations and connectedness to others reinforces the resilience of older persons (De Witte & Van Regenmortel, 2019a; Burholt et al., 2020) by giving them information and instrumental support, encouraging coping behaviour and enhancing self-esteem. Resilience in turn contributes to a general sense of mastery and enables older people to overcome adversities and safeguard their well-being ( Janssen et al., 2012). Indeed, people need sufficient strength and resilience, for example in the form of social capacities and skills, to form steady social relations and feel connected to others. In this respect, a sense of connectedness and the fulfilment of social needs (i.e. the basic human need for love, acceptance and belonging) strongly relate to the well-being of older persons (Ten Bruggencate et al., 2018), and when those needs are not fulfilled, feelings of loneliness may arise. Through this central duality of strength and connection, empowerment strives to improve the quality of life for older persons. The overall goal of empowerment is not to realise maximal independence. Instead, interdependence and relational empower-ment are core concepts in the lexicon of empowerment (Van Regenmortel, 2011). Indeed, a balance between individual independence, on the one hand, and connectedness with others, on the other, enables people to fully enjoy individual freedom but at the same time feel safe in the face of limitations and adversity, with which older people are more often confronted (De Witte & Van Regenmortel, 2020a). Together with others, older people can redirect their lives without losing their dignity and integrity (Abma & Bendien, 2019).

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Ketersediaan

Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

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No. Panggil

362.6 DEW s

Penerbit

Leuven : Leuven University Press., 2023

Deskripsi Fisik

215 hlm

Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

978946166507

Klasifikasi

362.6

Tipe Isi

text

Tipe Media

computer

Tipe Pembawa

online resource

Edisi

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Subjek

Services to Persons in Late Adulthood

Info Detail Spesifik

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Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

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Versi lain/terkait

Lampiran Berkas

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