Food has a way of bringing people together, which is exactly what an initiative called ‘Makan (feast) with Seniors’ started by Ageless Online and FACEUP hopes to do – bring together youths with seniors over their favourite meal. The idea for ‘Makan with Seniors’ came from an initiative called ‘Feast with Strangers’ by Oxford historian Theodore Zeldin, which is being held all around the world. However, ‘Makan with Seniors’ puts the focus on seniors, and celebrates seniors’ life stories. Read more here>>>

These conversations are helped through a menu which has a list of questions for the seniors to answer including their memories of WWII, recollecting of local events that impacted them and sharing of their growing up years. Conversations can also grow organically. The hope is that through these simple conversations, there will be more understanding between the generations. Stereotypes can be broken down and new friendships gained.

Prof François Vellas, AIUTA President participated to EFOS European Federation of Older Students Governing Board invited by Nadezda Hrapkova, President of EFOS and AIUTA Governing Board Member in Bratislava Comenius University U3A on thursday 4 october, Slovakia, Thursday 4 October.

Former AIUTA President Stanley Miller (UK Third Age Trust) and Peter Hug (Netherland) former AIUTA GB member and EFOS President spoke on European programs to support news initiatives from U3As and senior students in Europe.

The Seventh RIPUAM (Red Iberoamericana de Programas Universitarios con Adulto Mayores) started in Santiago de Chile on Thursday 25th October 2018 at Pontifica Catolica Universidad de Chile with the Director of SENAMA Gladys Gonzales, the Dean of the Faculty of Social Science, Eduardo Valenzuela, the Director of U3A Santiago Macarena Rojas and the United Nation Indepedent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, Rosa Kornfeld-Matte.

This important congress with more than 200 participants from Latin America and Spain will focus on the future of U3As in the XXI century on all life learning. Prof François Vellas, AIUTA President did the keynote presentation on « International Cooperation among U3As in practice »

Prof Fabio Hauagge do Prado, Director U3A UDC Foz do Igauçu and AIUTA Governing Board member inaugurated New Office for International Cooperation with Prof François Vellas, AIUTA President on Monday 29th October 2018.

This office will be a focal point for new international programs with AIUTA / WSTC , TED AFL, UTC and UDC on education for all the life, senior study tours and research on U3As, elderly improvement and sustainable development.

Congratulations to Maria Chester on her appointment as an Accredited Lecturer of the The Arts Society. Well known to many for her six U3A Summer Schools, she now adds her Arts Society distinction to a long list of achievements. She was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina but travelled the world. Maria studied Fine Arts and Art History and is a Professor of Pre-Columbian Art - some of her many papers are available at www.academia.edu. She is multilingual, enjoys travelling and is Visiting Research Fellow at CAUA Research Center for International Elderly Education - Shanghai - China.

She is a Senior Lecturer and she is also tutoring annual courses on Art History for BEA-Berwick Educational Association. She also works for Berwick Visual Arts delivering conferences linked to art exhibitions complemented with guided tours in Berwick upon Tweed, England. In addition, she is the much-travelled Secretary General of AIUTA. You can contact her if you click here>>>

The official inauguration of the new U3A Project Lagos Center at 2018 World Elders’ Day celebration took place on Saturday October 27th at the Clam Event Center, Lagos. This was a red-letter day for the initiators of the project. Fifty members from the First Baptist Church, Broad Street, Lagos were formally inducted. Dr David Oludare Mark is the Director of U3A Project Lagos Center. 

The encouragement and go ahead for spreading U3A in Nigeria came from Prof Francois Vellas, President of International Association of Universities of the Third Age (IAUTA) when he visited Nigeria in February. “His message made an indelible impression on us and we feel confident that the U3A Project Lagos Center will soar to great heights and meet his expectations,” said Dr David Mark.