Celebrate older age – and fight ageism!
on Wednesday, 28 April 2010 seniorsdiscounts.com reported:
Age Uk is the new Age Concern and Help the Aged – a combined force that diligently does its homework. New research, The polling for Age UK by YouGov has revealed that 95 per cent of people over 60 strongly believed that they should celebrate older age, but 78 per cent felt ignored and excluded from society. Additionally, 82 per cent felt that older people were not heeded as much as younger people – this is due partly to the fact that working people’s voices are heard more than those of the retired, as believed by 64 per cent of respondents. 46 per cent felt that it was most important to be treated with respect and dignity, 34 per cent prioritised opportunities to learn new hobbies and 32 per cent said the provision of frequent and accessible public transport would enhance their lives.
Charity Director for Age UK Michelle Mitchell said: “As a group within society, people in later life often feel ignored, and this research clearly demonstrates how this is a reality experienced by the majority. Ageing can present many challenges, particularly for those experiencing disadvantage. Age UK campaigns and provides services and solutions to help improve later life.”
Age UK is to launch a new television advertising campaign aimed at a wide audience to promote public awareness of how it can help, its services and products and how it can be contacted, together with this recent research on ageing. The organisation is calling upon older people all over the country to tell others about their own inspiring stories of achievement. This is part of the organisation’s mission to improve the quality of later life for everyone and the aim is to dispel and to challenge some of the myths and stereotypes about older age.
The campaign is led by Diana Moran the Green Goddess a 70-year-old model who said: “I am an extremely active 70-year-old and make a very valuable contribution to society. I am happy to help highlight the search to find stories of other people doing remarkable things and celebrating the joy of later life.”
Ms Mitchell emphasised the organisation’s beliefs that “an ageing society presents tremendous opportunities that should rightly be celebrated, and it is heartening to see that this is a belief held by such a high percentage of those polled.” Telling such inspiring stories is one means of celebrating later life and, she said, is a first step in making older people’s voices heard “loud and clear.” Stories can be sent to [email protected].
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