What’s so special about 50+?

Oscar, the concessions site for the over 50s has launched a new award to coincide with UK Older Person’s Day and Grandparents’ Day which both take place this month. They’ve called them the Golden Owls and their purpose is to “find the cream of the over-50s”.  All well and good -  we strongly support the idea of promoting the position of older people and would always encourage the recognition of much needed role models for what being “over 50” is like these days.

But sadly, a closer look at the categories reveals that this is hardly likely to be the outcome. If you want to vote you can choose from:
•  THE EUREKA – most inspirational person of our time
•  THE ENDURANCE – longest-lasting celebrity
•  THE GIVER – Most worthy charity
•  THE INNOVATOR – Most recognised achievement in industry
•  THE OLYMPIAN – Outstanding contribution to sport
•  THE OWL – Lifetime Achievement Award

All of these are likely to produce the same old names representing the same old activities. What’s happened to the really meaningful stuff like:

The Feminist – the woman who has overcome ageist stereotypes

The Supporter – the individual from whatever sphere who has most helped the cause of older people

The Communicator – the writer, artist or commentator who has most clearly contributed to greater understanding about ageing in the twenty-first century

The Worker – the employee who sets the best example of what later life working can be

We’re sure there are plenty more categories that would be really worthwhile including those in areas such as caring, wisdom, and original thought. Why not let us know what you’d like to see?

In the meantime, as nominations close on October 15^th, you ‘ll have to be quick with the Golden Owls if you want to cast your vote.

Click here  to see more

A ton of things to sort out.

Research published in The Lancet and reported widely in the press this week (for more see www.inmyprime.info) predicts that about half of the children now being born in wealthier countries can expect to live to be 100 or more. Furthermore, with better and earlier medical intervention many of these later years can be free of serious disability. This Danish/German research adds more weight to the ever-growing need to address the issues surrounding population ageing and to acknowledge that the concept and definition of old age needs to be re-examined, mindsets changed and prejudices challenged.

The researchers have even suggested that the lifespans of people should now be considered in four stages: child, adult, young old age and old old age. This is something which those of us who specialise in the field have been banging on about for some time – it is just not possible to lump people who have reached a certain age all together and assume that they are elderly and that their active and useful lives have come to an end, along with their judgement, taste, ability to think for themselves and so on. We are talking about a 50-year time interval here – potentially half of one’s life. And if in “old old age” we can be independent and moderately healthy then what does it say for “young old age” or in my prime as we might describe it?

But living this long is not a “given”. It is dependent on many things – financial security, physical and mental well-being, a good reason to want to live that long, and adequate safety nets for when we might become old or infirm.

The serious debate is only just beginning.

 

 

Important opportunity to contribute to government thinking on age

 In July, in the midst of summer (?) the Government launched its strategy “Building A Society For All Ages” which is intended to help Britain prepare for our ageing society. The strategy builds on work already being done and sets out a number of new proposals which include:

• The launch of an interactive one stop shop for helping people plan ahead from 2010.  This will help people in mid-life to make decisions on financial, health, careers and other issues;
• A new Active at 60 package which will provide people with information about their entitlements and opportunities – helping them to stay active and involved in their later life;
• Working with local areas to develop a Good Place to Grow Old Programme with a National Agreement to promote the importance of ageing issues at a local level, and an innovative service delivery fund to test new approaches to delivering services for older people;
• A new UK Advisory Forum on Ageing will be responsible at a national level for providing advice to ministers across Government on additional steps that Government and partners need to take to improve well-being and independence in later life. 

These proposals form part of a full, formal public consultation in which views are welcomed from all on how government can implement these proposals and what more can be done to reach a vision of a society for all ages. They are keen to receive written responses and to hear views at a number of consultation events taking place across the country in September and October from local government, stakeholders, the voluntary and private sectors and the general public. 

This seems a real opportunity to make the views of older people heard. For further information and to contribute go to http://www.hmg.gov.uk/buildingasocietyforallages/consultation.aspx

The doers and the done tos.

Last Thursday I attended the Equality and Human Rights Commission and Help the Aged/Age Concern’s JustAgeing? seminar. It was held  to launch their new research report “Socio-economic inequalities in older people’s access to and use of public services”. The seminar itself was interesting, not least for its emphasis on the need for innovation, creativity and co-creation in devising services for the aged (and indeed for any other group who might be on the receiving end of things being done to them/for them). 

Predictably, one supposes, during the Q & A session the argument emerged about the extent to which those outside a target group i.e. the young in this instance, have the insight, knowledge or right to design programmes, policies or whatever for those whose characteristics and needs they do not themselves share. It’s an old chestnut and applies equally to race, gender, faith, unmarried mothers or whatever other group you choose to focus on.

For me it once again accentuated an acute disparity. Senior politicians, bureaucrats, decision makers etc. tend in the main to be over 50. They are powerful people who make, or approve policies whose beneficiaries are the “over 50s”. Yet these over 50s – the “done tos” – are never linked to the former. Instead they are treated as if they are voiceless, powerless, and lacking in representation. How come?

What it seems to underline is that ultimately it’s not about age. It is, as ever, about social and economic status. And what it seems to imply in this particular context is that the first group of over 50s i.e. the wealthy and powerful are not the slightest bit interested in aligning themselves with the “done tos” and are unlikely themselves ever to want access to older people’s public services.  Once again the message cannot be reinforced strongly enough – all over 50s do not have standard needs.

Old Masters?

The Elderly Accommodation Counsel (EAC) seems a useful and worthwhile organization focusing on matters relating to the living arrangements of the older generation.  However I was disturbed to hear about their Over 60s Art Awards which (to quote their website) “have been encouraging and celebrating the remarkable wealth of talent, creative energy and enthusiasm among amateur artists aged between 60 and 100+, since 1995”.

Why on earth do they feel it necessary to have a special art award for people aged over 60? If the rationale is that those in this age group are so much better than younger people (by virtue of their long years of practise) thereby making this some sort of Artistic Masters Championship then maybe there might be a point. If however, as it seems, it is simply to underline that yes, poor old dears can still hold a pencil, brush, charcoal or camera and turn out something that passes for art, then it’s downright insulting.

Surely art is an arena where age simply continues to add to expertise?  This being the case shouldn’t the good folk at the EAC simply be encouraging older artists to go and knock the socks off the judges in mainstream competitions?

How can we ever hope to overcome ageist stereotyping if it is still being reinforced in ways such as this by those who should know better?

For more information see www.eacartawards.org.uk

It’s not going away!

This week I attended the first in a series of seminars under the title “Just Ageing” (http://justageing.equalityhumanrights.com/) which is being organised by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the new charity formed from the merger of Age Concern and Help the Aged. The first seminar looked at our assumptions about the process of ageing itself during which Professor Tom Kirkwood, Director of The Institute for Ageing and Health at Newcastle University, gave a fascinating talk on the physiological and social experience of ageing.

I can’t really do justice here to his exposition which in itself was a huge summarisation of the work being undertaken. However, the message coming through loud and clear is that human beings are not per se programmed to die at any particular time – indeed the survival instinct in us is strong right to the end. So, under the right circumstances, increasing life expectancy can be expected to continue and we should celebrate old age, not see it as form of disability or inconvenience. What does happen is that imperfections in us and breakdowns in our ability to function bring on the end of our lives and if these can be eliminated or minimised then our life spans can be increased. Furthermore, many of the causes of this are “malleable” – things such as diet, housing, education, exercise, negative stress – as evidenced by differing life expectancies in different environments even within the same country.

This was the third seminar, organised by varying bodies, that I had attended in the space of a week each focusing on a differing aspect of ageing. There is much excellent work taking place and it is clear that the momentum is increasing. However, to date, government seems to concentrate only on the short term without a real “statesmanlike” approach to the longer term questions, employers (with a few exceptions) seem concerned only with damage limitation and containment of costs, and amongst the population at large there is a massive lack of awareness of the issues involved.

When will all this be pulled together?

Dumb, depressed and drunk?

An interesting piece of research floated past the radar this morning. Apparently a recent University of Michigan study of several thousand “seniors” found that those in the US performed significantly better than their counterparts in England on standard tests of memory and cognitive function. The study is the first known international comparison of cognitive function in nationally representative samples of older adults in the United States and England. It revealed that the overall difference in cognitive performance between the two countries was quite large – approaching the magnitude associated with about 10 years of ageing. In other words, the cognitive performance of 75-year-olds in the U.S. was as good, on average, as that of 65-year-olds in England.

The reasons why this may be are numerous and require further investigation. However the indicators are that a number of factors may play a part: First, higher levels of education and net worth in the United States accounted for some of the better cognitive performance; second, U.S. adults reported significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms than English adults (unlike Brits, they seek medication if they are depressed), and this may have accounted for some of the U.S. advantage in brain health since depression is linked with worse cognitive functioning; and third, significant differences in alcohol consumption between the U.S. and English seniors may play a role with more than 50 percent of U.S. seniors reporting no alcohol use, compared to only 15.5 percent of English seniors. Previous research has shown that moderate alcohol consumption, compared to abstinence, is linked with better cognition among those aged 50 and over.

Interesting links and interesting messages. Okay, maybe we can’t do much about our existing levels of education and net worth in later years, but keeping the brain active, keeping involved, interested and in the mainstream to stave off depression (and perhaps seeking treatment if it does occur), and cutting back on alcohol are all things which are possible and achievable. If it helps keep the brain ticking over that much better in later old age surely it’s got to be worth the effort.

More about the study at http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/553659/

Save the last dance

For once a great TV programme about older people last night (in Alan Yentob’s BBC2 Imagine series) presented in a way that was neither patronising nor voyeuristic. The programme followed the Sadlers Wells Company of Elders Contemporary Dance troupe – a group of 25 or so ordinary men and women of average age 79 - through their preparations for a new dance performance at Sadlers Wells.

Not only were the dancers themselves entertaining and inspirational, but their commitment, attitude and sheer bonhomie was a joy to behold. Better still the audience who watched their eventual performance were obviously moved, as had been their choreographer. Not by the fact that older people can dance, but by the extra element their life experiences added to their performance, underlying that dance is not just about physical beauty and accuracy but also about creativity and soul.

Definitely worth tracking down if you missed it even if you’re not a great dance afficionado. Next week’s programme topic also bodes well: David Hockney at age 70. Watch that space.