Speaker
Description
We are members of Counterpoint, a multicultural support group for foreign residents in Japan. Our mission is to help members deal with changes they encounter as years pass and to enable them to find joy and fulfilment in the later stages of life.
Fiona Creaser will begin by introducing the "Health" chapter of a diversity focused workbook designed for adult learners. She will then shift to a personal reflection on aging with a disability, exploring how the nature and impact of her disability have evolved over time. Through this discussion, she hopes to highlight the intersection of aging, disability, and cultural context, and to offer insights that may resonate with others navigating similar experiences.
Herb Fondevilla will discuss a five-year study (2017-2022) which examined arts-based dementia interventions in Japan culminating in the Hanabi Arts Workshop in Toride City. Using participatory action research with local NPOs, artists, and volunteers, three critical implementation challenges were identified: cultural stigma limiting family participation, institutional barriers complicating cross-sector collaboration, and precarious employment threatening program continuity. While arts activities enhanced participant wellbeing, sustainable implementation requires consistent investment, cultural sensitivity training, and innovative funding models addressing community-based research's precarious nature.
Kristie Collins long imagined retirement would entail splitting time between Canada and various gender advisor contracts (CUSO, WUSC, CECI) in developing nations. This would allow her to spend time with family and friends, to qualify for Canadian healthcare, and to pursue meaningful work. With rising costs of living in Canada, however, this plan appears increasingly challenging. Her talk will explore trends in international retirement migration and proposes ways that we might bridge multiple ‘homes’ after retirement.
Amanda Gillis-Furutaka will discuss her personal shift in identity from a full-time professor to a retiree, and link her experiences to the mission of Counterpoint, which is to help us accept aging as a positive stage in life and one we can look forward to. Based on research and her own experiences, she will outline ways in which we can prepare for and achieve this goal through a desire to learn, to adapt, to give, and to connect with others.