067 Chapter 5 Impact of the age awareness workshop Case study: Renewed confidence to call out ageism Tristan, local council volunteer Tristan, a retiree, who is now focused on reducing ageism and helping older people feel more connected, reported that the workshop boosted his confidence to actually tell people when they’re being ageist. While typically not hesitant to talk about ageism, Tristan did believe that the workshop gave him a new level of understanding and the language to identify and discuss ageism with others in his community. One example was at the bowls club with his friends, when he heard a friend make an ageist comment. While previously he may have let it go, he stepped in that time saying, ‘Hey, do you know that what you just said was ageist?’. Then he explained why, all in a positive and constructive way, before conversation started flowing again. What really struck Tristan was that when he was at the bowls club on a different occasion, that same person interrupted someone else to tell them that they were being ageist and explain why. He thought it was great to see that these lessons were being spread, rather than someone being ‘told off’ and dismissing it. The workshop made me more aware, more able to identify an ageist comment and call out an ageist comment. 5.7 Sharing the learnings Figure 19. Proportion of respondents in the follow-up survey who had conversations about ageism with others Had conversations with people I know about ageism 87% Yes No 11% 2% Not applicable Many who attended the workshop reported sharing information from the session with others, such as their clients, colleagues, friends and family, which meant that the impact of the workshop extended beyond the participants.