From Graz to Vienna: Presenting Data and Ageing Research Across Europe

September 2024 marked an invigorating month of travel, collaboration, and scholarly exchange for Dr. Dalmer, who embarked on a research trip spanning four countries and multiple conversations about data, aging, and creative methodologies.

The trip began in Graz, Austria, where Dr. Dalmer and Dr. Cal Biruk presented “To function in society”: Seeking a common vocabulary around data in later life at the Data Power Conference. In Barcelona, she presented her work at an invited seminar at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya’s (UoC) Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) titled Exploring the use of creative research methods with older adults, emphasizing how participatory approaches can enhance both the inclusivity and relevance of ageing research.

In Finland, Dr. Dalmer was invited to speak at the University of Jyväskylä’s Centre of Excellence in Research on Ageing and Care (CoE AgeCare), where she presented a paper titled “Informative, dull, incomprehensible”: Mapping older Canadians’ understandings of data. Then In Vilnius, Lithuania, at a Nordplus Research Meeting, she shared findings from a workshop series in a talk titled Dubious ports, missing mice, and stashed passwords: Learning from a workshop series about older adults’ online privacy practices.

The tour wrapped up in Vienna, at the Socio-gerontechnology Network’s 2024 annual meeting: Shifting Relations: Ageing in a Datafied World, where Dr. Dalmer presented her paper: Meaning making with data: Cellphilming with older women who consume cannabis (co-authored with Dr. Saara Greene).

This month-long research exchange was energizing and affirming. It opened up new avenues for thinking critically and creatively about data, aging, and participatory knowledge production across diverse contexts.