Age Friendly Island recently celebrated 5 years of working to make the Isle of Wight a great place to grow old at their Legacy & Learning event on Thursday 19th September 2019. The evening, held at Lakeside Park Hotel, saw over 100 guests from across the Island’s statutory and charitable sectors come together to look back at 5 years of achievements, as well as look to the future.

John Metcalfe, Chief Executive of Isle of Wight Council led the celebrations with his key note address, emphasising how Age Friendly practises and training have been embedded within the Isle of Wight Council and the positive difference they have made.

Ange Jones, Age Friendly Communities Manager at the Centre for Ageing Better, then spoke of how the Isle of Wight, and the work of Age Friendly Island, is regarded as a beacon of excellence within the UK Network of Age-friendly Communities.

Age-friendly communities foster healthy and active ageing, making it possible for people to continue to stay in their homes, participate in the activities that they value, and contribute to their communities, for as long as possible.

To date:

• 550 professionals from 45 organisations have undergone Age Friendly Training
• 29 Organisations have been represented on the Age Friendly Island Steering Group
• 500+ older people have engaged in public forums
• 5,891 young people have been involved in Age Friendly Awareness Sessions
• 39 organisations have signed up to the Age Friendly Charter

A further highlight of the evening was the presentation of Age Friendly Charters to Isle of Wight Council, HMPS IOW, WightFibre, Wessex Cancer Trust, and Nine Acres Primary School by Geoff Underwood, High Sherriff of the Isle of Wight.

Emma Lincoln, Age Friendly Island Team Leader, said of the event:

“The Age Friendly Island Professional Event 2019 gives professionals from the public, private and voluntary sectors the opportunity to find out about the legacy and learning from this five-year project.

“Age Friendly is about shifting cultural attitudes and influencing policy and strategy change to support our older Islanders, and we now have clear evidence of this happening across the Island. I am delighted with how organisations are thinking about the needs of older people and taking action to embed Age Friendly practises in their day-to-day operations.”

Guests included leaders from IW Council, Adult Social Care, Isle of Wight CCG, NHS, IW and Hampshire Fire and Rescue Services, Wightlink, Red Funnel, Go South Coast (Southern Vectis), the High Sherriff, local businesses and representatives from local parish councils, charities and the public.

This project is part of the Age Friendly Island partnership. Age Friendly Island is part of Ageing Better, a programme set up by The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK.