Homes, Health and Happiness the focus of Age Scotland Conference

Age Scotland’s national conference takes place in Glasgow tomorrow (Wednesday 20th March) where around four hundred older people and experts will discuss homes, health and happiness for all ages.

The theme “Homes, Health and Happiness” has been a common thread of the work of Age Scotland and its predecessor charities over the last 75 years and are stand out areas of importance to older people and their representative organisations.

The conference will be chaired by award winning broadcaster and journalist Pennie Taylor while the national awards ceremony will be hosted by Bargain Hunt’s Anita Manning.

With the help of guest presenters and workshop leaders the conference will examine the latest thinking and research, hear about new an innovative practice and participate in activities bringing happiness to people in later life.

Guest presenters include Professor Rose Gilroy of Newcastle University whose work to strengthen older people’s involvement in shaping the environment and place around them. Melrose Stewart is a chartered physiotherapist, lecturer at the University of Birmingham and TEDx speaker who was one of the experts on Channel 4’s award winning documentary “Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds”. William Bird MBE is a GP passionate about getting people active having set up the first health walk scheme in 1996 then developed the Green Gym and Beat the Street in 2013.

The national awards celebrate the exceptional commitment and contribution individuals and organisations make to ensuring Scotland is a good place to grow old.

The award categories are: Member Group of the Year; Volunteer of the Year; Services for Older People; Inspiration Award (Group); Inspiration Award (Individual); Young Volunteer of the Year; Jess Barrow Award for Campaigning and Influence; Patrick Brooks Award for Best Partnership Work. Winners will be announced at the conference accompanied by videos of their work.

Speaking ahead of the conference, Age Scotland’s Chief Executive Brian Sloan said:

“This conference promises to have the largest attendance of older people since we started running them nationally five years ago. There is a huge appetite from older people across Scotland to engage, learn and share with others on issues affecting later life and we are incredibly lucky to have so many groups and individuals who are making significantly positive impacts on the lives of others joining us for this conference.

“We will reflect back on 75 years of Age Scotland and predecessor charities’ work and look to the future as to how to improve older people’s health, create better homes and increase happiness in later life.

“With a rapidly ageing population Scotland faces many challenges to make sure we are fit for the future. Many of the issues we are discussing echo those which have been on the agenda for the last eight decades and while much progress has been made, there is still a long way to go to ensure that Scotland becomes the best place to live well and independently in later life.”

The conference programme and more information about the speakers can be found here.