Age-Friendly Forum

Adding life to years

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Summary

Cardiff’s Age-Friendly Forum was established in May 2023. It is hosted by Cardiff Council and chaired by the Older People’s Champion for Cardiff. Consultation, information gathering and sharing is the main purpose of the Forum, with an overall aim of exploring how the lives of older people in Cardiff can be improved.

The Forum meets every quarter and is made up of representatives from various organisations and groups across Cardiff, including Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, Cardiff Third Sector Council and older people’s groups (including Cardiff’s 50+ Forum).

So far, meetings have included the following activities and themes:
– Presentations from key organisations
– Group discussions on key topics, e.g. ‘What should we all be doing collectively during the coming year to work towards progressing as an age-friendly society?’
– Co-designing climate resilience: Age Friendly Cities and Communities Workshop (Supporting a research study carried out by Heriot Watt University and the University of York)
– Digital inclusion, services and support
– Cardiff Council Budget Proposals 2024-25: Involvement Session (discussions RE budget proposals that had been identified as potentially having a disproportionately bigger impact on older people)
– Question and answer session with representatives from Transport for Wales who attended to discuss and answer any questions/concerns regarding the new bus interchange in the city centre.
– Age-Friendly Cardiff Action Plan 2024-2028 – gathering feedback RE priorities
– Public health – presentations and discussions on key priorities

Website: https://agefriendlycardiff.co.uk/your-city/have-your-say/cardiffs-age-friendly-forum/

Key facts

Main target group: Older people in general

Other target group(s): Key partner organisations

Sector(s): Health, Information and communication, Social protection, Transportation, Urban development

Desired outcome for older people:
Contribute

Other issues the Age-friendly practice aims to address:

Ageing in place
Inclusion
Participation

Contact details

Name: Nicola Pitman

Email address: nicola.pitman@cardiff.gov.uk

Age-friendly practice in detail (click to expand):

Engaging the wider community

Project lead: Local authorities

Others involved in the project:

Older People’s Association
Social or health care provider
Volunteers
Research institution

How collaboration worked: Collaboration takes place with partner organisations and groups regularly, in relation to planning the Forum (inviting partners to present, lead sessions etc.) and also during the Forum meetings (during discussions and networking etc.)

Older people’s involvement: Older people were involved in the age-friendly practice at multiple or all stages

Details on older people’s involvement: Representatives of local older people’s groups are invited to all Forum meetings, including Cardiff’s 50+ Forum and Cymru Older People’s Alliance (COPA).

Moving forward

Has the impact of this age-friendly practice been analysed: No

Do you plan to evaluate your age-friendly practice? No

Feedback:
We received positive feedback from representatives of older people’s groups who attended the budget consultation meeting in February 2024 – they felt that the information provided was useful and that valuable discussions took place.

Expansion plans:
Meeting invitees will be increased as new partner organisations and older people’s groups are identified.

Looking back

Challenges:
It was initially a challenge to know how best to structure the meetings, as they are usually approximately 3 hours. We have learnt that it is best to include a balanced mix of presenting/listening and discussions, as well as regular breaks, to keep attendees engaged.