News and Events
New - Workshop:- Design Matters: design for and with older people
On the 19th of November 2009, a workshop is planned to explore issues of design for and with older people. The workshop, being developed between VOICE North and University of the 3rd Age will be supported by Newcastle University’s Institute for Ageing and Health and Northumbria University’s Centre for Design Research. The workshop will involve a presentation by a leading product designer and an opportunity to visit and critique the design of exhibits in the Centre for Life.
In advance of the workshop, we hope to provide an opportunity for a number of older people to work with students and staff from the Centre for Design Research and School of Design to explore improvements that could be made to the design of real products to address the needs of older consumers. The findings from this event will be presented at the workshop along with other activities exploring how inclusive design could improve the way in which we all experience products and services.
Download provisional programme
New - Chair of Years Ahead board needed - download advertisement here
New - An invitation to interested organisations to apply for affiliate status with Years Ahead - download the application form here
New - 'Regional Engagement Panel for Ageing and Vitality - invitation to new members'
Demographic Change: Challenge and Opportunity
The North East is in a strong position to lead other UK regions in tackling the twin challenges of demographic change (the changing age-structure of the population) and the social and economic opportunities which these changes will bring. Our region will be affected earlier and more severely than others, with fewer younger people, a smaller workforce, and increased numbers of older people. Such changes require innovative policy-making and action at regional level if we are to use effectively the large resources of social and intellectual capital in our older people. They must be enabled to contribute as fully as possible to their communities and the region, and live healthy independent lives for as long as possible. Years Ahead - the North East Regional Forum on Ageing – brings together a range of organisations working towards this vision of a flourishing, sustainable region with an age-structure much older than that experienced by previous generations.
The Regional Engagement Panel: Ageing and Vitality
Our region is home to world-class research on ageing. It has Europe’s leading centre for research in gerontology, Newcastle University’s Institute for Ageing and Health (IAH), which is developing a unique ‘Campus for Ageing and Vitality’. In partnership with Years Ahead the IAH has established the Regional Engagement Panel for Ageing and Vitality (REPAV) to involve older people in the research and policy-making processes which effect their lives.
The Panel will be a means to engage with a wide, representative range of older people and their communities and to consult with them on key issues around ageing and demographic change. It will identify public concerns and thereby help to shape future research and policy-making. It will provide real opportunities for lay people to become involved at many different levels in these processes.
The Panel will be developed as a large representative group of people, reflecting the age-structure and geographical and socio-economic make-up of the North East. We hope to involve up to 3000 people interested in contributing their ideas and experience. Anyone is welcome to take part and participants will be able to be involved in a range of ways. Exactly how much and how often you wish to participate will be entirely up to you. For example:
- At the simplest level, panel members will be invited from time to time to respond to questionnaires about research and/or policy-related issues in areas which are of interest to them.
- There will also be opportunity to participate more interactively in the development of research and/or policy proposals through focus groups and workshops, for example.
- Some projects will need to recruit older people to assist in research, for example by interviewing other older people, or by evaluating the usefulness of new enabling and assistive technologies.
- There will also be opportunities for some panel members to play a role as lay members of groups concerned with the management, assessment and implementation of projects.
- Members of the Panel will receive regular invitations to conferences and other events to disseminate information about research advances or policy changes which affect their lives.
- All members will receive newsletters about the Panel’s activity and other related opportunities to contribute to the intellectual and social development of the region.
A basic principle will be that, wherever appropriate, members are paid for their work. This could range from a modest shopping voucher in return for completing a questionnaire for a ‘not for profit’ organisation, to an agreed fee for providing similar information to a commercial organisation, to a paid role as a research assistant in some studies. All essential travel and other expenses in connection with Panel activities will be paid.
The development of the Panel represents an extremely exciting opportunity for older people across the region to work in partnership with researchers and policy and strategy makers. Your involvement will make a positive difference to the lives of older people in the North East and helping to create a flourishing region.
If you would like to become a member of the Panel and receive information about potential opportunities to become involved, please get in touch by returning the reply slip linked below – we would be delighted to hear from you.
Regional Engagement Panel Reply Slip
Regional Engagement Panel Flyer (the information on this page)
