In the Jan. 24 Maine Sunday Telegram, Barbara Babkirk made a good case for hiring or retaining older employees. She points out that the 30 percent of Maine residents between the ages of 50 and 70 are uniquely well-educated and dedicated to making what are typically the retirement years purposeful.

Paid employment, whether full- or part-time, offers a solution for many, but some baby boomers and beyond find nonpaid work in stimulating company with a range of worthwhile goals especially satisfying.

We all know volunteers who provide essential manpower to sustain Maine’s lively nonprofit scene. I’d like to point out one group that achieves a multiplier effect for its large and committed corps of unpaid workers, many of whom have time to serve after years of wide-ranging employment, many in positions of responsibility overseas.

This is the Camden Conference, which will complete its 29th year Feb. 19-21 with a weekend of provocative talks on “The New Africa.”

Among this year’s featured speakers are natives of Ghana, Chad and Congo. Others are working or have worked in Burkina Faso, the Ivory Coast, Central African Republic, Nigeria and Tanzania. Universities represented by faculty members include Stanford and Tufts’ Fletcher School.

The speakers are involved in drought control, providing clean water, early-stage venture and growth financing, election monitoring, banking, private equity, farming and fisheries, good government and promoting civil society, among other subjects.

This year’s topic will explore the determination of Africans to frame their own future, breaking free from colonial history to find African solutions, as well as what U.S. policy has been and should be toward this massively diverse continent.

Not only does this event pump off-season life into the coastal town of Camden, but live streaming to Belfast, Rockland and now, Portland, allows the internationally minded in other locales to attend more economically and easily. Those who view the conference on a large screen as a group share an intense experience – a natural lead-in to stimulating discussions during breaks and after the formal agenda is complete.

Ninety midcoast and Portland-area volunteers, many in semi- or full retirement, man all aspects of the conference with only one paid full-time conference director.

Most attendees are also Mainers of a certain age, but 20 percent are high school or college full-scholarship students whose intellectual and potential professional horizons are broadened by exposure to well-informed back-and-forth on important world topics between the audience and top scholars, journalists and nongovernmental organization executives.

Maine could be poised to reach out for international opportunities. Inspiring our young people to be part of this effort makes good sense and should be part of any sound economic development plan. The conference can offer insights that may jump-start continuing interest in the rest of the world.

Supporting the conference are the many libraries in midcoast and southern Maine that present over 80 free community events leading up to the weekend gathering. Almost 3,000 attended these events in 2014-15.

The World Affairs Council of Maine and continuing education groups like the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the Portland campus of the University of Southern Maine contribute to the collaboration, spreading the reach of the conference to a wide, receptive audience. Some of the courses at OLLI are filled within an hour of the opening of registration.

The libraries involved can draw specialized speakers through the conference to serve their clients better. This helps spread the word about the conference itself to those who have voted with their feet that they have an interest in the topic. This teamwork benefits all who participate and provides an example of how Maine can make the most of the limited resources it has, countering any tendencies toward discouragement and lack of coordination.

Commentators such as this paper’s Alan Caron are right that Maine needs more younger workers. But active retirees help bring a vitality to our educational and cultural scene that is attracting creative and productive people of all ages to Maine.

The Maine “brand,” as Caron said Jan. 3, involves words like “authentic, wholesome and trustworthy.” But part of our heritage is colored by adventure and curiosity. Think sea captains from Wiscasset and Searsport riding the waves to the other side of the world on the China trade. Learning about other cultures can tap into this spirit and encourage entrepreneurial efforts that benefit from our location.

As we seek to grow the economy of our state, let’s not neglect the long-range financial benefits of our high-quality nonprofits, channeling the considerable energies and talents of older Mainers.