AI-generated illustration; not a photograph of the reported event.
- calendar_today October 9, 2026
Ohio State Takes Center Stage at Global Congress on Age-Friendly Cities
This summer, The Ohio State University’s Age-Friendly Innovation Center (AFIC) made a significant impact on the world stage during the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 3rd World Congress of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities. Held in San Sebastián, Spain, the event brought together representatives from more than 1,700 cities and over 60 countries, focused on fostering age-friendly cities and age friendly communities around the globe.
Background: The WHO’s Age-Friendly Initiative
The WHO established the Global Age-Friendly Cities Guide in 2007 to help cities enhance life quality for older adults. The guide highlights eight primary categories—such as housing, transportation, and social participation—identified by older people, caregivers, and service providers as essential for creating truly age friendly cities. Since joining the AFIC network in 2016 with support from Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther, Columbus has worked to strengthen its own age-friendly framework in alignment with these global principles.
Ohio State AFIC's Representation and Leadership
At the congress, three Ohio State representatives—AFIC director Marisa Sheldon, College of Social Work professor Holly Dabelko-Schoeny, and doctoral student Katie Simpson—contributed to the international dialogue. For Sheldon, the event was a testament to the power of global networks working towards shared goals for older adult services and community engagement. "It felt very special to be part of such a large network across the globe," she noted, reflecting on the collaborative nature of the gathering.
Advancing Age-Friendly Research: Food Insecurity and Intervention Mapping
Katie Simpson presented research on food insecurity’s relationship to the age-friendly framework. Although food insecurity is not currently one of the WHO’s eight official domains for age friendly communities, Simpson’s work brought this critical issue to the forefront and is expected to influence future initiatives globally. Professor Dabelko-Schoeny, meanwhile, participated in an international team mapping all existing interventions under the age-friendly framework. As the group’s sole U.S.-based researcher, she shared the team’s findings, further establishing Ohio State AFIC as a thought leader in global age friendly research.
Recognition from WHO and the Power of Collaboration
The significance of Ohio State's contributions did not go unnoticed. Thiago Hérick de Sá, who oversees age-friendly environments for WHO, praised the AFIC for exemplifying the coproduction of solutions by older adults, communities, policymakers, and researchers. He noted AFIC's role as a leader and its openness to share expertise internationally. The Ohio State delegates also highlighted the essential nature of relationship-building in the global age friendly movement. “There was a lot of sharing and requests for follow-up. To have these networks across the country and across the globe is so powerful as we think about the future of our work,” Sheldon shared.
Ohio State’s Enduring Impact in Age-Friendly Innovation
Both Sheldon and Dabelko-Schoeny emphasized that Ohio State’s status as a respected research institution lends credibility to AFIC’s work and supports its mission to disseminate evidence-based tools for practitioners, policymakers, and older adults. AFIC’s ongoing work in social participation and community-driven research aligns closely with the goals of the global age friendly movement and strengthens the foundation for future advances. “Being in the College of Social Work at Ohio State allows local, grassroots work to happen,” Sheldon said. The university’s commitment to rigorous, impactful research continues to shape the conversation on age friendly innovation worldwide.
Source: news.osu.edu.
