The Founder of Ageless Online
Ms Eleanor Yap was the last contact given to me by A Good Space. Previously while doing my research in Semester 1, I had came across her online blog for seniors called Ageless Online. Ageless Online is an online magazine specially designed for seniors, where they can read inspiring stories on their peers, find information on health, finance and products. Many of articles she shared and the topics she wrote about were very useful.
During our meeting, Eleanor said that what prompted her to start work in this field is that although there are many people working to help seniors in Singapore, there is simply not enough being done for them. She ran a seniors’ magazine called Senior Life more than 10 years ago and also founded 2 other seniors’ magazines Prime and Gao Feng (高峰) before starting Ageless Online.
Some other initiatives that Eleanor is running or is involved in:
- Makan with Seniors: Inspired by Feast with Strangers by Oxford historian Theodore Zeldin, Makan with Seniors focuses on the life stories of seniors that would make up the conversations with the younger participants during the event.
- Face Up: Behind the face of every person is a unique story. Collection of stories from seniors and dispelling stereotypes one face at a time.
- Time Traveller: Everything you own or once owned has a story. An online scrapbook/museum featuring everyday objects belonging to these seniors who want to share what these treasured items mean to them – from a happy incident in their childhood to a bad experience during the war.
I explained to Eleanor that my research project is also looking at the ageing situation in Singapore. I shared with her some of the data and insights I gathered from my surveys and cultural probe. She was especially interested in my cultural probe and offered to write an article for me and feature it on her blog. It was extremely generous of her!