In Canada, many cultural institutions are still lagging when it comes to incorporating age-friendly design of not only digital properties like websites, but also built environments for temporary and fixed exhibition spaces. When form trumps function, this is not always the best scenario for Canada's aging population.

It is well-established that older adults in Canada are broadly supportive of the arts through gifts of time, talent and dollars.

CanAge is looking to build a program that will aid cultural attractions and institutions to become more age-friendly, dementia-friendly, and inclusive. As Canada continues to strengthen its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts through policy changes, the federal government has also allocated spending to arts and culture institutions to bring them fully up to speed, making this an excellent time to craft a regimented process and infrastructure to drive this change forward.

• Students will provided with access to Canadian resources and source material from which to conduct their research.
• Students are being asked to create a business model and plan for a compliance-based recognition program for cultural institutions.
• Both virtual and built environments should be considered as a part of this program
• While accommodating for guests with physical and mental disabilities, this program is meant to cater to the varying need of older adults across a broad spectrum of ages and abilities. It should not be assumed that all older adults require specific accommodation.

We are only too happy to provide:

• A briefing document along with a facilitated overview of the important themes and needs for the project
• Any key messages, target audiences and available creative assets to help them understand the brand
• A single point of contact (POC) assigned to your course and students, with a team of experts available for questions
• Access to Slack, Google Workspace, and some other project management tools. We welcome the students so they can feel as though they are part of the team, or at arm's length - whatever is best.
• *For those running courses outside of Canada*, we'll provide guidance and direction for the students to better understand the Canadian business (and geographical) landscape, along with openly available sources of data that could be useful in making their assessments.
• Recognition of the school's involvement and the students' work in a media release (if permitted) and attribution of the students' contributions via LinkedIn or references as required.