Committed To Becoming More Age-Friendly
Nottingham United Kingdom
Age Friendly Nottingham (AFN) aims to make Nottingham a great place to grow older.
AFN focusses on supporting citizens aged 50+ years to have fulfilled lives – feeling valued by all sections of society, living as independently as possible and being encouraged to contribute to their local communities. It is a partnership of citizens, organisations, academics and service providers who are determined to build an age friendly future. AFN is an active member of the UK Age Friendly Cities Network.
Nottingham’s Older Citizens’ Charter
In 2013, to support the development of AFN, older people came together to develop Nottingham’s first Older Citizens’ Charter. The charter demonstrates the values and standards that older citizens expect from Nottingham City Council and partner organisations. It was launched at an event celebrating International Older Peoples Day on 1 October 2014.
International Older People’s Day
Over the past five years, Nottingham has held celebrations to mark every International Older People’s Day on 1 October. Activities have included age friendly dancing in the Spiegel Tent, tea dances, a multi-cultural food festival aimed at promoting cohesion between diverse groups of older people, an arts festival and seminars on topics such as employment and volunteering in later life. In addition, celebrations take place in local areas and at venues offered by partners such as Nottingham City Homes.
Take a Seat
Nottingham’s ‘Take a Seat’ enables older people to sit and catch their breath at more than 330 locations across the city. This helps them to remain independent and active in their local communities. Participating premises are promoted through AFN networks and listed on the AFN ‘Take a Seat’ webpage or go to the Centre for Ageing Better web site.
Action planning for an age friendly future
Nottingham’s AFN action plan covers all eight domains of age friendliness. However it has particularly prioritised action that enables our older citizens to maintain and develop social connections. This has included:
-Action to reduce stigma and discrimination.
-Supporting volunteering and contributions to local communities.
-Reaching out to almost 6000 indivduals through the bimonthly Age Friendly Nottiingham newsletter.
-Raising awareness of issues affecting older people and their families.
-Hosting the annual AFN Ageing Well Day in the Old Market Square.
-Increasing access to arts and cultural activities for older people.
-Enabling the older people’s voice to be represented in a wide range of consultations.
For more information visit Age Friendly Nottingham. AFN can now be found on Facebook.