Out of brief encounters on a virtual event, often grows further connection, discourse and learning – that is, if you are prepared to reach out. Back in February at the 6th Century Summit presented by The Longevity Projectin collaboration with the Stanford Center on Longevityit was during one of the sessions around the theme of Longevity, Learning & The Future of Work that I made a chat box connection with a longevity researcher and advocate based in Lisbon.
After some back-and-forth communication, last week my delightful Zoom conversation happened with Amélia Rita Monteiro, an Assistant Professor and Director of Research at the Center on Longevity Leadershipat Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics. As I discovered through our exchange of background stories, Amélia’s entry into the field of ageing and longevity was much like mine, an evolutionary one.
It was in 2025 that Amélia earned certification at the Stanford Life Design Lab’s Life Design Studio for Universities and from there became what the Longevity Center calls a Longevity Catalyst, which stems I presume from their global outreach Catalyst Program that same year. One of her beliefs that Amélia shared was the need to move from seeing ageing and longevity as a problem or crisis to seeing it as an opportunity for innovative collaboration across all generations.
Music to my ears, especially as Global Intergenerational Week this month from April 24-30. With that framing, we discussed how these opportunities cut across many interconnected areas, from economics to healthy ageing, health and social care, housing and community design. Amélia’s perspectives were well aligned with mine, but learning of the Longevity Leadership Education Programfirst hand was what caught my interest.
In the small world category I also discovered, in my further review of the website, that on the program faculty along with Amélia is someone whose work I also follow – Nic Palmarini, Director at the UK National Innovation Centre on Ageing. The 2026 five-day program begins in Lisbon on June 22nd and is designed for business leaders and managers who work with multigenerational teams or clients who are looking to “leverage the benefits of longevity within organizations”.
The Center on Longevity Leadership is one of nine Centres of Excellence at CATÓLICA-LISBON built on three pillars: Talent (Workforce & Leadership), Market (Longevity Economy & Innovation) and Society (Community & Policy Impact). Nic Palmarini’s curriculum segment is Opportunities for Cities which I noted based on my participation in the design of the CourAGE 360 Living Modelsand the ISO Ageing Societies Smart Multigenerational Neighbourhoods project.
The segment of the Longevity Leadership curriculum – Designing Careers for Later Lives, is delivered by Amélia Rita Monteiro. Again, more music to my ears. As I shared with Amélia, that is exactly the work I engaged in over a decade or so in my time as a career consultant, which I included as a central thread – entrepreneurship in later life. So it is with that amazing connection that I look forward to writing a post soon that features more of Amélia’s work out of Lisbon.
