Emi Kiyota

Biography: Dr Emi Kiyota is an Associate Professor at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and College of Design and Engineering, and Deputy Executive Director, Centre for Population Health at the National University of Singapore. She is an environmental gerontologist with more than 20 years of experience in designing and implementing person-centred care in long-term care facilities and hospitals globally. In addition to making a vast array of contributions to national and international initiatives focused on quality improvement in the built environment for long-term care and ageing services, Dr Kiyota holds great concern for the needs of elders in low-middle income countries. In 2010, she founded charitable organisation Ibasho, dedicated to co-creating socially integrated, sustainable communities that value their elders, embodying in the Japanese concept of a place where one feels at home being oneself. Her current focus is on creating socially integrated and resilient cities where elders are engaged and able to actively participate in their communities. Dr Kiyota is currently based in Singapore and looking into incorporating Ibasho into the Health District@Queenstown. The pilot programme aims to design an age-friendly community by creating integrated solutions to enhance the health and well-being of residents across their life stages.