Positive Ageing Week...
Positive Ageing is the term that we have chosen to encapsulate all we are trying to do to make Ireland the best place in which to grow old. It means a society in which people of all ages enjoy the same status and rights.
Positive Ageing Week is a festival which highlights the positive aspects of ageing and celebrates the contribution older people have made and continue to make to their communities.
The central aim of Positive Ageing Week is to dispel the many negative perceptions that surround ageing and to transform attitudes towards ageing and older people. We need to celebrate the fact that we are living longer, that ageing is not a burden but an opportunity.
Ireland’s older population is a huge, but sometimes over-looked, resource which can help society during the current economic crisis, President Mary McAleese was told today at ESB Head Office where she joined celebrations to mark Age Action’s Positive Ageing Week
POSITIVE AGEING WEEK 2010
Positive Ageing is the term that we have chosen to encapsulate all we are trying to do to make Ireland the best place in which to grow old. It means a society in which people of all ages enjoy the same status and rights.
Positive Ageing Week is a festival which highlights the positive aspects of ageing and celebrates the contribution older people have made and continue to make to their communities.
The central aim of Positive Ageing Week is to dispel the many negative perceptions that surround ageing and to transform attitudes towards ageing and older people. We need to celebrate the fact that we are living longer, that ageing is not a burden but an opportunity.
Who organises Positive Ageing Week?
Age Action coordinates Positive Ageing Week. Events and activities are organised by active retirement groups, local voluntary groups, nursing homes, libraries, commercial organisations and individual older people themselves.
This is the 8th year Age Action has marked UN International Day of Older Persons (1 Oct) and each year Positive Ageing Week has become bigger and better. Last year over 700-recorded events took place in 26 counties throughout the country and this year we are hoping for at least 850, including many from across the border.
Positive Ageing Week is proudly sponsored by ESB Customer Supply.
What can you do?
We are asking individuals and groups to organise an event or an activity to celebrate Positive Ageing Week. Anybody can take part!
If you are interested in organising an activity or event please contact Daragh Matthews on 01-475 6989 or business@ageaction.ie for a Positive Ageing Week pack. Alternatively you can apply online by clicking the red button at the top of this page.
Closing date for receipt of event details is Friday 3rd September 2010
CARDI: Older People and the Recession Seminar Series 2010
Ireland has been severely affected by the recession resulting in job losses, plummeting value of private pensions and budget cuts that will affect older people in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland for the coming decade.
The Centre for Ageing Research and Development (CARDI) is launching a new seminar series entitled Older People and the Recession. The series will examine crucial issues of concern for researchers, policymakers and older people themselves about the impact of the recession on older people in Ireland, North and South. Issues explored will include: income and pensions, work and retirement and ageing in a rural setting in a time of financial constraint.
The seminars will showcase findings from four CARDI funded research projects, feature contributions from experts in each of the three areas and explore the implications for policy and practice affecting older people. The research findings are extremely timely in light of the recession resulting in plummeting values of pensions and savings for older people, job losses and budget cuts that will affect services for older people in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland for the coming decade.
Inequalities in Old Age - Old New or New Debate?
20 October 2010, Croke Park Conference Centre, Dublin
The first seminar will explore the impact of the economic downturn on pensions and assess income inequalities within the older population. Dr Paddy Hillyard, Emeritus Professor, Queen’s University Belfast and Dr Demi Patsios, Policy Research Consultant will launch CARDI funded research on Inequalities, Pensions and the Recession. It will also mark the launch of research commissioned by CARDI on Theories of Ageing, authored by Dr Virpi Timonen and Dr Maria Pierce, Trinity College Dublin.
Living Longer - Working Longer
10 November 2010, Clifton House, Belfast
The recession has also impacted on the older worker and the second event in the series aims to open up new debates on working and ageing as state pension ages are set to rise sharply both north and south. It will examine the myths, realities, challenges and opportunities relating to longer working lives and the extent to which workplaces are friendly to older workers.
An age old problem - where now for rural services?
9-10 December 2010, NUI Galway
The third event in the series will focus on ageing in rural Ireland. It will examine services for older rural dwellers as the recession and budget cuts bite. The seminar will feature findings from CARDI funded research project led by Dr Aoife Ahern, University College Dublin exploring rural transport for older people and Dr Kieran Walsh, NUI Galway, on rural health.
All the seminars are free but it is essential to book. Draft programmes for the events are listed below and at www.cardi.ie ; where you can also register.
You can register your interest in these events by completing this online form Older People and the Recession Series.
Please indicate which seminar(s) you want to attend on the booking form.
You may also get further information by emailing info@cardi.ie or by telephoning 0044 (0) 28 9069 0066.
Winter Fuel Allowance
Perhaps you know someone who would benefit from the Winter Fuel Allowance. Using the texting system to get application forms for this and other benefits is very handy. if you want to get your copies of the form, text “FORM FUEL” followed by your name and address to 51909.
Food or Fuel - 30 homes a day have electricity cut off
The development is a further indication of the difficulty being experienced by householders in the economic downturn.
The ESB has confirmed that on average 900 homes a month are having their power cut, up to a fifth higher than the rate in March.
AdvertisementThe company has appealed to consumers who get into difficulties in paying their bills to contact them as soon as possible so that repayment arrangements can be reached.
It says 11,000 such arrangements are being entered into each month.
However, the St Vincent de Paul is appealing to the power supplier to exercise further restraint when it comes to cutting off homes.
It says this is especially urgent in the lead up to the winter months.
The ESB stresses that cutting off power is a measure of last resort and most consumers are reconnected within a short period
South of the Border -
Ballroom of romance
On Saturday 28th November The Voice of Older People held its first South of the Border Ballroom of Romance in Ballyshannon. The dramatic part of the evening was presented by the Ballytour Players under the directorship of Maura Logue.
The company also joined us on Wednesday 2nd and Saturday 5th December in Donegal Town and Ardara where the craic was mighty!
We have commissioned Maura to work with groups in all our 7 network areas if there is a demand and so if you and your members would like to re-live those days of the 50’s Parish Hall dances and are willing to commit several weeks to rehearsals please let us know.
Fortunately the three dances were held in local hotels who were generous enough to give us their venue free of charge as they were happy to be associated with a community event like this one; perhaps you would like to run the evening as a fund-raiser? The Donegal Town groups asked that some of their door money go to a local charity, Blue Stacks Foundation.
The Milford 65+ Group are holding a fund-raising dance on Friday, 26th February and any one looking for a different night out and a bit of a laugh should mark this date in their diary.
AGM Details
On Thursday 12th November the Voice of Older People, Donegal held its Annual General Meeting in the Isaac Butt Visitor’s Centre in Cloghan.
The meeting was attended by our accountant, Dessie Lynch from Brian McDaid & Company, who presented the Company’s accounts and chaired the election of the new committee and directors.
Due to the resignation of 3 directors during the year there was no requirement for any of the attending directors to step down. Mary McGeehan (Buncrana), Breege Connor (Bundoran) and Angela Apitius (Letirmacaward) were all nominated and agreed to join our Board. The committee paid tribute to Roisin Lee who has stepped down from the committee on health grounds.
Our current Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer were all thanked for their work over the past year and re-elected unopposed.
Staff gave an outline of the work that the Project is planning over the next year, including the development and support of the seven networks, the working with Donegal County Council to building of a “Older Adult-Friendly County” and the introduction of training for members interested in expanding their advocacy and leadership skills.
The Company would like to thank all those who attended the meeting, and the staff at the visitors centre who looked after us so well.
The Voice of Older People is managed by a fourteen-person Management Committee, elected annually at our AGM. The date of this meeting is circulated to all the groups and individuals on our data base.
The staff are based in The Volt House in Raphoe and are always contactable for advice and information sharing.
