Conceived at Te Papa in 2020
The idea for the Third Age Foundation was conceived over coffee in 2020. Bernie White and Clive had noticed that much of the conversation about older New Zealanders focused only on the negative aspects of growing older. In fact, the 2020 conference for the New Zealand Association of Gerontology had only one speaker (of about 120 sessions) on positive ageing. Very little of the conversation concerned broader aspects of wellbeing - beyond finance and healthcare. Clive, then in his mid seventies, exemplified a positive attitude to ageing - living a life full of meaning, contribution and vitality - despite some chronic health challenges.
Established in 2021
A small group - Bernie, Clive and Viv McAlister - became founding trustees of the Third-Age Foundation. Together they did the ground work for establishing the Foundation as a registered charity and agreed to create the materials for promoting and supporting Flourishing Groups for those New Zealanders interested in positive ageing. These founding trustees donated their time and some of their own money to getting the Foundation going.
Pilot program in 2022
All the material for a 12-month pilot program was developed and piloted with 4 pilot Flourishing Groups - Wellington, Christchurch, Ashburton and Queenstown. Feedback from these groups was used to refine materials and overwhelmingly validated the initiative. Clive left his position as founding trustee for health reasons.
2023 and beyond
A small group of Trustees and Flourishing Group leaders continue to support the 14 Flourishing Groups across New Zealand. And promote the difference these groups have made and continue to make to lives of those people involved in these Flourishing Groups. Further materials have been developed for conversations beyond the first 12 months, including …
Savouring Life
Living Mindfully
Cultivating Hope
Practical Wisdom
Assertiveness
Cultivating Self Worth
Our current Trustees…
Viv McAlister
Viv’s passion for helping organisations and people to learn, grow and change led to her completing a post graduate qualification in organisational change management and pursuing a career in human resources management.
Whilst working from her home in Wellington, Viv spent a major part of her career working in and leading global teams focused on change management projects in areas such as selection & recruitment, career development and learning.
As a result of working globally, Viv developed a keen interest in different cultures which has led to a passion for travel and photography.
She is a life-long learner who actively embraces many of the free university courses available on-line and is an avid researcher and reader.
Bernie White
With a passion for the human spirit and the creative impulse, Bernie has studied and worked across diverse fields of education, food science and engineering, computer technology, and consulting.
For the last 20 years he has worked as a coach, facilitator and teacher to support positive change for individuals, teams and public/private sector organisations. He has a particular interest in trust and enabling groups to realise the fullest expression of their collective potential.
He is inspired by the thinking and practice of thought leaders working in the field of social change. He is a life-long learner and is currently interested in reflective social practice and learning two second languages - te Reo and Italian.
He has four adult children and lives with his wife in Karori, Wellington. He‘s passionate about theatre, the outdoors, travel and music.
He places a high value on humour, curiosity, creativity and compassion.
Professor Paul Jose
Paul is a Professor of Psychology at Victoria University of Wellington and he still experiences the joys of teaching and doing research on topics of his diverse interests. He is a committed ‘positive psychologist’, meaning that he focuses on the strengths and virtues that people possess rather than their weaknesses and deficiencies. He was trained as a developmental psychologist, so he also considers these strengths as waxing and waning over the lifespan, e.g., physical agility in youth tends to be supplanted by wisdom in the third age.
He has three sons, who are currently enrolled in university and busy with their studies, and he lives with his wife in Wilton, Wellington. His main hobby is playing and watching basketball, a game that he used to be pretty good at, and he additionally enjoys travel, interesting food and wine, and humorous conversations.
He is committed to living a meaningful and enjoyable life himself, and he is similarly dedicated to helping other people become more authentic, content, and happy themselves.
Dr Ágnes Szabó
Ágnes (Ági) is a Senior Lecturer in Health at Te Herenga Waka–Victoria University of Wellington. She is currently completing a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship awarded by The Royal Society–Te Apārangi for research on the ageing experiences of migrant communities across the life course. She is passionate about working with communities and doing research with the aim to inform policy and shape social change. She believes that the key to flourishing in later life is promoting equity and inclusion across the life course. Only by creating environments that enable all in society to live a life they have reason to value will our people and communities flourish.
Ági is originally from Hungary and feels fortunate to be able to call Aotearoa New Zealand her second home. She lives in Pōneke Wellington with her partner.
Tim Rosenbrook
Tim is a skilled strategic marketing professional with over twenty years’ experience developing and implementing marketing and brand strategies for many New Zealand and international market leading businesses. Tim is the Director of Gecko Marketing, operating since 2013 - Gecko Marketing provides out-sourced strategic marketing services to small and medium sized businesses. Tim specialises in customer focused and measurable integrated marketing and brand strategies. A past student of the NZ Marketing Association digital marketing program and a Chartered Marketer, Tim holds a BBS and Masters in Marketing and has been a member of the Marketing Association Central Committee since 2012.
Outside of marketing, Tim’s family keeps him busy, and he also likes to get out on Wellington’s South Coast for a dive or a surf when time/weather permits.