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Closing Remarks
At the workshop’s end, Nancy Lundebjerg, chief executive officer of the American Geriatrics Society and the chair of the planning committee for the workshop, reflected on the day’s discussions. Overall, she said, the nature of the day’s conversations had shown that everyone is interested in helping people realize their dreams. The first key takeaway she identified was from a presentation by Patricia Devine (see Chapter 4): we can learn to tune into our own biases and become agents of change. “What a powerful statement that is,” Lundebjerg said. “If we can actually listen to our inner voice and use the tools that she [Devine] has created to help us to do that, we can actually change the world.”
Lundebjerg continued by commenting that the mission of the forum itself was reflected in the presentation by the keynote speaker Liz Jackson (see Chapter 2), who said that she is searching for beauty in the face of stigma. Lundebjerg said that she would add that the aging and disability communities are also searching for meaning and relevance.
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