IFA Virtual Town Hall Chat Summary 12 June 2020

The following chat summary is from the IFA Virtual Town Hall on 12 June 2020 with Dr. Peggy Edwards, sharing on grandparenting in a pandemic.

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Key Resources

• Grandmothers Advocacy Network
• Stephen Lewis Foundation Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign
  • • Ms. Sarah Dopp can be reached for questions at sdopp@stephenlewisfoundation.org
• Edwards, P., Sterne, M.J. (2005). Intentional Grandparenting: A Boomers Guide by Peggy Toronto: McClelland and Stewart. Available on Amazon Books.

Upcoming Events

• IFA Virtual Town Hall
  COVID-19 and Older People: Preventing and Protecting Against Elder Abuse During a Pandemic
  Friday 19 June 2020 at 7:00 am Toronto EDT
• UN NGO Committee on Ageing
  World Elder Abuse Awareness Day – The impact of COVID-19 on violence, abuse and neglect of older persons
  Tuesday 16 June at 8:00 am Toronto EDT

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International Conventions and Advocacy

The following resources feature international initiatives towards establishing the convention:

• International Longevity Centre – Canada
• Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People (GAROP)
• Older Women Count! Resources in English and French on rights of older women in Africa and the Convention on the Rights of Older People
• Grandmothers and older persons must themselves advocate for an international convention to protect the rights of older persons, and in Africa they need to advocate for the ratification of the African Protocol to protect the rights of older persons.
• The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women references many of the issues referred to in this Town Hall.
• Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Older Persons in Africa

Effects of COVID-19 on Grandparenting

• Stephen Lewis (AIDS-Free World) YouTube video: Rich Nations vs. Poor Nations, The Coronavirus Story
• The Zoomer YouTube video: Grandparenting in the time of COVID-19
• Strict lockdown protocols that discriminate by age are challenging for healthy older people. A grandmother at age 72 has different access to her family than another grandmother at age 50 regardless of health assessment, functional ability or other factors.

Intergenerations

• Grandmothers can serve as gatekeepers or enablers of behaviour choices.
• Tannistha Samanta: Of grandparents, memories and the pandemic
• Coronavirus: 28,000 Virtual Volunteers “Adopt a Grandparent” to Help Carehome Residents During Lockdown
• In Ireland, the types of initiatives matching grandparents with children is fraught with implications and issues around child protection. While there are informal arrangements of intergenerational support programs, the “Adopt a Grandparent” program was not formally adopted in Ireland.
• In a 4-generation household where the patriarch of the family died from COVID-19, the spouse and other family members in the house are all grieving. The grandchild is now afraid to see the other grandparents (not in the house) because he is afraid he will spread the virus to them. Fortunately for technology they can communicate but the long term impact of the fear of spreading the virus by a grandchild to the grandparent may be of concern.
• A number of adult children moved into their parents’ homes during the pandemic. Now as they return with the opening of society these adults are extremely fearful of bringing the virus back to their household.