The Age-Friendly Institute announced the international expansion of the Certified Age-Friendly Employer (CAFE) program to Brazil and Canada. The president of the Age-Friendly Institute, Tim Driver, said, “We are thrilled to join our new partners in Brazil and Canada and turn this into a truly global movement.”
The Certified Age-Friendly Employer (CAFE) program, developed by a team of analysts and professionals specializing in compensation, benefits, and HR, began establishing best practices for age-friendly employers in 2006. There are hundreds of employers in the program across various sectors, including both private and public.
Massachusetts became the first state in the U.S. to be certified in 2022.
Maturi do Brasil, a platform that helps people stay active through work, understands that by creating opportunities for older individuals to continue working, learning, teaching, motivating, and inspiring, it promotes health and social well-being. Founder Morris Litvak stated:
“The CAFE program helps us fulfill the mission and core purpose of our company. We are creating a culture in Brazil that values the wisdom of those who already have a long life history, which is essential to breaking the existing paradigm in the job market, where older adults are simply seen as obsolete.”
The Age-Friendly Institute
Founded in 2019, the Age-Friendly Institute (institute.agefriendly.org) celebrates and elevates everything age-friendly. Its consumer website AgeFriendly.org was created to simplify the confusing landscape for older adults and families as they navigate aging and to give voice to their experiences. AgeFriendly.org brings together systems developed by experts to establish what is age-friendly, with assessments, ratings, and insights from older adults and family caregivers. Through its research and events, the Institute encourages cross-sector collaboration among aging service organizations in pursuit of a comprehensive Age-Friendly Ecosystem. The Age-Friendly Institute is also home to the Certified Age Friendly Employer (CAFE) program, which began as part of RetirementJobs.com in 2006.