CAP News Issue 1 - October 2006
Welcome to the first edition of CAP News!
CAP News will be issued to older people’s groups three times a year as an update on the activities of the Changing Ageing Partnership (CAP) recently formed between Age Concern Northern Ireland, Help the Aged, Queen’s University of Belfast and the Workers’ Educational Association.
The Changing Ageing Partnership Programme (or CAP Programme), funded by Atlantic Philanthropies, heralds an older, louder, stronger Northern Ireland. CAP’s vision is of a strong, informed voice capable of challenging attitudes and approaches to ageing.
Each organisation in the Partnership will develop activities focussing on a particular strand of the five-year programme. Age Concern Northern Ireland is focussing on equality and policy development. Help the Aged is capacity-building within Northern Ireland’s age sector and will be communicating CAP’s vision and activities. Queen’s University Belfast is building research and policy evidence and Workers’ Educational Association is delivering advocacy skills training to older people.
CAP Launch at Age Awareness Week
CAP was launched at the Long Gallery in Stormont as the headline event of Northern Ireland’s first Age Awareness Week (2-6 October 2006). The launch focussed on activities highlighting issues of employment, diversity and rights. The event was attended by more than 80 people, including older people, MLAs such as Mark Durkan (SDLP) and Reg Empey (UUP) as well as representatives of the community and voluntary sectors.
BBC broadcaster Walter Love championed the week and hosted the CAP launch. Also speaking at the launch was Joyce Stock, an older person providing a personal perspective, Monica McWilliams, Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and Annie Campbell a Commissioner from the Equality Commission of Northern Ireland.
Commenting on his involvement in the CAP launch, Walter Love said:
“Older people are a vital part of the fabric of our society. I applaud the Changing Ageing Partnership and Age Awareness Week for bringing the voice of the older population so powerfully to the forefront of the Northern Ireland agenda and look forward to seeing how the partnership’s work progresses over the coming years. There are immeasurable benefits to be had from strong partnership working, and CAP brings together four great organisations. But CAP also has a fifth partner – the older people of Northern Ireland. There is already a vibrant age sector in Northern Ireland and a wealth of passionate and enthusiastic older people working and campaigning for the good of their generation. The beauty of CAP is that it will direct skills, time and resources into channelling that passion and raising that voice to have even greater impact.”
In the coming years, CAP aims to build a critical mass of older people working in the community to shape and influence issues essential to achieving a better quality of life for our older population. CAP is expected to attract much interest from Northern Ireland’s political parties, with the programme aiming to create an environment where politicians are actively listening to the collective voice of older people.
Equality Activities – Age Concern Northern Ireland
Age Awareness Week centred on the launch of the new Employment Equality (Age) Regulations for Northern Ireland which have brought local debates around age to the forefront. Age Concern Northern Ireland is now working with the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland to develop and deliver awareness-raising sessions with employers regarding new legislative requirements.
On Wednesday 4 October 2006, an Age Equality Discussion at the Wellington Park Hotel in Belfast brought together representatives from government departments, older people’s organisations and the children and young people’s sector. Delegates questioned a panel which included Brian Merriman from the Republic of Ireland’s Equality Authority and Eddie McVeigh from the European Commission offices in Belfast on the practical implications of equality considerations, for example within the application and provision of grants within the community sector.
Age Concern’s intergenerational event on 6 October at Clifton House, Belfast, also brought exciting news of support from Belfast City Council to facilitate further intergenerational work. As a result of these events, the debate around age equality has been broadened to involve groups, individuals and organisations beyond the age sector, and it is hoped that these cross-sectoral relationships can be capitalised upon as the CAP Programme continues.
Capacity Building and Communication – Help the Aged
Help the Aged is currently developing the capacity-building programme it will deliver to older people’s groups which are struggling to access the funding that would allow them to be sustainable.
Twenty groups will be identified in the first 18 months of the CAP Programme as the initial beneficiaries of capacity-building training. Help the Aged’s CAP Development Officer will identify the groups with the following criteria:
- Groups already actively involved in campaigning / lobbying and interested in developing a campaign / lobbying strategy
- Active older person’s groups, forums, and networks which have charitable aims and are managed by older people
- Groups involved in / signed up to the Changing Ageing Partnership
- Other organisations working with and for older people
It is intended that these groups will come from across Northern Ireland and from interest groups currently underrepresented in the age sector.
The Indian Community Centre, The Rainbow Project, Strabane Community Project and the Relatives Association are the first groups working with the CAP Development Officer, Stephanie Campbell, on the CAP Programme. These groups will work with Stephanie to identify and devise a plan specific to their development needs, whether these are related to capacity building, funding strategies, business planning or campaigning.
To keep interested older people’s groups involved in the development of CAP activities, Help the Aged will both compile CAP News and establish a website to communicate information about project activities. Watch this space for more news on how the website will develop!
If your group is interested in joining the programme to build on its capacity to work for and create a "voice" for older people in their local communities, please contact Stephanie Campbell on tel. 07734 553 605 or email Stephanie.Campbell@helptheaged.org.uk
Research – Queen’s University Belfast
On 22 September 2006 Queen’s University of Belfast’s Institute of Governance launched the CAP Research Programme on Ageing, which consists of two elements:
- Short research commissions of one year’s duration. Researchers will undertake practical research in support of policy development for older people; and additionally seek to lay the groundwork for further research. There will be four or five commissioned research projects each year over the next four years.
- Five longer-term inter-disciplinary research projects, each of three-year’s duration. Involving PhD students, three of these will start in 2006 followed by two in 2007.
The commissioned projects selected for 2006-07 will cover:
- Young people’s perceptions of age – “Looking forward: a review of children’s and young people’s perceptions of old age.”
- Smart housing – “Designing better homes for the ageing population in Northern Ireland.
- Medication regimes in nursing homes – “Medication regimes in nursing homes for older people: enforcement or empowerment.”
- Happiness – “Old age and happiness: implications for health and savings policies.”
The three three-year projects for 2006-07 will research crime and fear of crime and economic rights of older people. The PhD students will come from Queen’s Schools of Law; Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work; and Politics, International Studies and Philosophy.
Training – Worker’s Educational Association
Many older people feel very strongly about the issues that affect them but are unsure about how to bring about change for the better. WEA’s one day Lobbying Workshops for Older People are an introduction to the concept of lobbying i.e. using personal influence, skills and knowledge to improve the way government and organisations address the needs of older people.
The workshop will allow participants to:
- Share their experience of lobbying and organising for change.
- Identify their lobbying issue and assessing if change is possible.
- Practice a range of lobbying skills.
- Networking with other older people lobbying for change.
- Mapping out a lobbying plan.
The workshops will be practical, action based and build upon the wealth of experience that older people bring to lobbying.
These one day workshops will be held from10 am - 3.30 pm in the following locations:
- Thursday 26 October – Grosvenor House, 5, Glengall St, Belfast
- Tuesday 7 November - Ebrington Centre, Glendermott Road, Derry
- Wednesday 29 November - Brownlow Library, Brownlow Road, Craigavon
The workshops are free and lunch will be provided. To book a place or for further course information contact Diarmuid Moore at the offices of WEA, 1-3 Fitzwilliam Street, Belfast BT9 6AW, tel. 028 9032 9718 or email diarmuid.moore@wea-ni.com
In touch with CAP
You have been selected to receive CAP News as the representative of a group which the CAP Programme partners felt might be interested in CAP activities.
To be removed from this mailing list, or to update the contact details for your group as they have appeared on this mailing, please contact the Information Officer at Help the Aged on infoNI@helptheaged.org.uk or call 028 9072 8641 to allow us to update our records.