Think of your parents when you were a teenager, and the impression you probably had of them, was that they were quite old. However, the lives which 40, 50, and 60 year olds lead today are very different from those of a generation ago.
Our city’s changing demographic, the fact that by 2040 almost one in three of our population will be 65 or over, means our community is facing significant challenges. But with challenge comes opportunity, and socially inspired entrepreneur Queenie Man is embracing this change, believing she can positively shape the future of ageing in Hong Kong.
With more than ten years working in brand consulting, Queenie understands the power of effective communication. Finding a better way to present a solution, in language and tone that engages, with relevance and respect for its audience, may sound obvious in the commercial realm, but it has been lacking in the way the elderly and their needs have been addressed to date. Forget traditional institutional monotone, Queenie Man is technicolour energy and enthusiasm, and that's revolutionary in this sector.
“I've always felt that there's a missed opportunity when talking about elderly care, because when most think about ageing, it's always negative,” she explains.
“so I wondered, is there something we could do to change the narrative, or change the way we perceive and operate their care?”
Queenie pivoted from her career in branding, diving into social enterprise, founding Project Futurus, an organisation which promotes positive ageing through education, advocacy, and community service. Alongside this, she’s Managing Director of Forward Living, a Nordic styled senior living community in Tuen Mun, giving her hands on exposure to aged care, being a certified personal care and healthcare worker herself.
Most would find this sufficient, if not overwhelming, but not Queenie. You’ll regularly find her dressed in her superhero uniform of Captain Softmeal, a crusader for the development and implementation of better tasting and more appealing soft food for those suffering from Dysphagia, or a difficulty swallowing, a condition often suffered by the elderly. And as if that’s not enough, she’s a member of the Elderly Commission, which provides advice to the Government on caring for elders.
Queenie observes, “What we want to achieve is collective impact, everybody doing it together, really creating that change, that movement. So that’s why our slogan is reimagine the future of ageing.”
As the population lives longer, Dementia becomes a greater issue for the elderly community, and this has not been lost on Queenie. Her Project Futurus, has developed a number of initiatives to help support those suffering from the condition. One of them, the Dim Sum Art Renaissance Programme, engages youth and adult volunteers to work with the elderly to create ceramic dim sum pieces, which through the activity helps individuals to reestablish a sense of self identity and self-esteem, nostalgia being a powerful tool in combatting the negative effects of Dementia.
It’s not just volunteers from the community though who are vital to effecting change. Queenie identifies participation by the corporate world as a critical factor in any transformation, and a large part of her efforts are to get companies to include ageing in their ESG strategies. Next comes the support and understanding of the public, which she’s tackling through education and raising of awareness. But her focus is also on those already in the elderly care industry.
Photo: Project Futurus collaborated with The Hong Kong Society for the Aged (SAGE) Mr. Wong Wha San Memorial Neighbourhood Elderly Centre to create an immersive dim sum restaurant environment for dementia training
“How can we empower them? How can we encourage them to think outside the box? What else could we do to improve quality of life for our future self?” she explains.
“Right now, we work with people, corporations, community stakeholders, NGOs, and social enterprises. We also have caregivers who are from the public, they also support us, and for that we’re very, very grateful.” She observes, “I want to make ageing sexy. And make it something that people want to pay attention to.”
華懋集團 ·《LIFE+》2024年夏季期刊
18 July 2024
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