Getting older is something to celebrate

Getting older doesn’t have to be a difficult time! We joined our colleagues at Nottingham City Council and other city organisations on Tuesday 1st October to mark International Older People’s Day.

This year the event was built around the signing of the Older People’s Charter. We were calling on all organisations across the city to ‘reduce ageism’ and make getting older a celebration.

This year marks 50 years since the term ‘ageism’ was coined by Robert Butler in 1969. Research shows that even today, getting older is still strongly associated with being frail, lonely and sad.

We talked about how ageism is deeply damaging both to individuals and to our communities. Recent research suggests that a quarter of people over 50 have felt discriminated against while doing everyday tasks or accessing services. Even positive phrases like ‘you look young for your age’ can serve to bring up damaging stereotypes.

What is International Older People’s Day?

On International Older People’s Day, leaders from across the UK committed to making communities great places to grow old in. Nottingham City Council is asking organisations across the city to change the way we talk about getting older.

Many of us are living for longer. It is therefore vital that we are all able to make the most of our extra years. We can start by talking differently about ageing. So many people have greater self-confidence in later life. Not to mention the wealth of experience older workers bring to their workplaces. It’s time we celebrated people as they are getting older.

We joined a number of Nottingham city partner’s at this year’s celebration of International Older People’s Day. Many older people attended the event. Our teams were able to provide advice and information on the range of services we have available to support them.

We were particularly talking about our new mobile care alarm range. This range is for anyone who is getting older and still wants to carry on with life as normal. Getting out and about and making the most of your day can make such a difference. Our mobile care range can make sure you can do this with the reassurance that you can contact us if you ever need help.

We’re delighted to have taken part in the event, and will continue to support older people who need that extra bit of support.