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Age-Friendly Sarasota

By Steve Huard

October 17, 2018

What Is AFS? 

Age-Friendly Sarasota is a countywide effort in Florida to promote active, engaged, and healthy living for people of all ages. By learning and sharing about Sarasota County's age-friendly features and the aspirations of its residents, this initiative is amplifying and bringing enhancements to the community. These enhancements align with factors identified by the World Health Organization that influence the ability to live well at any age.

 

Age-Friendly Sarasota is part of the World Health Organization’s Global Network of Age-friendly Cities and Communities, an effort of more than 600 communities in 38 countries worldwide benefiting more than 190 million people, and was the first community in Florida to be recognized as an age-friendly community by WHO and AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities, a national affiliate of the global effort. Age-Friendly Sarasota works with its seven founding partners to propel its progress. For additional information on this initiative, see FAQs about Age-Friendly Sarasota.

 

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Age-Friendly Florida 

In the fall of 2016, Age-Friendly Sarasota (the first community in Florida to join the World Health Organization’s Global Network and AARP’s National Network of Age-Friendly Communities) hosted age-friendly communities throughout the state in a Sharing Symposium supported by The Patterson Foundation.


Partnering with AARP Florida, connecting, learning, and sharing took center stage at the two-day event. Sessions included “Weaving age-friendly into the fabric of your community,” “Sharing promising practices,” and “Together co-creating an age-friendly Florida.” Synergy flowed as each community shared their own goals, accomplishments, and challenges.

Most importantly, an Age-Friendly Florida Network emerged under the coordination and support of AARP Florida — setting a model for the rest of the country. Collectively our communities are now becoming part of the solution, pioneering new ways to address the challenges ahead. Age-Friendly Florida is building upon our communities’ assets and aspirations to optimize active, healthy, and engaged living for all ages. As communities and individuals, in the self-declared epicenter of an aging world, we can have lasting positive influence and impact on the longevity revolution as we take responsibility and action for shaping our common future.

Additional Resources

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