Council welcomes the international recognition that Manchester has by being the first City to be recognised as an Age Friendly City by the World Health Organisation. The Age Friendly Manchester Older People’s Board, established in 2004, has ensured the voice of older people is placed at the heart of the Council.

To coincide with the United Nations’ International Day of Older People (IDOP), events are taking place this week to celebrate the achievements and contributions that older people make to our City.

Council celebrates the myriad of roles older people play. We acknowledge and value older people for the contribution they make to local communities. We recognise the unique set of skills, experience and knowledge older people bring to the workplace and the third sector.

Age Friendly Manchester is a founder member of the UK Network of Age Friendly Communities and continues to play an instrumental role in its development. To mark IDOP, and in the 50th year of Ageism (the term was coined in 1969), the Network has written an open letter to support a public call to action and to show commitment to combat ageism by challenging outdated language and stereotypes. Today, Council welcomes, endorses and signs the IDOP open letter.

This motion calls on the Council to:

1.         Promote positive images of ageing in all of our communications We need to tackle the narrative around ageing. We call on people, services and partners to recognise the need to change both the language and images used when talking about (and with) older people.

2       Support ongoing activity to raise awareness of the benefits of older workers, pushing employers to change their approaches to recruiting, reskilling and retaining older employees. Council further supports the need for innovative and radically new ideas and options to support people aged 50-64 who are out of work, to enable them to age well, live well and improve their overall quality of life.

3.         Champion more age-friendly activity and infrastructure in our neighbourhoods, so more older residents can age well in their local communities, with access to the right services, housing, information, infrastructure and opportunities - social, cultural or economic. The voice of older people must be heard to ensure that they continue to contribute to and take a leading role where they live.

Proposed by Councillor  Eddy Newman,  Seconded by Councillor Mary Watson and also signed by Councillor Susan Cooley, Councillor June Hitchen, Councillor Samuel Wheeler, Councillor  Shaukat Ali and Councillor Tim Whiston  - An Appendix to this Notice of Motion can be found at the  back of the agenda

Appendix: UN International Day of Older Persons – 1 October 2019

Tackling Ageism Together – An Open Letter

As this year’s UN International Day of Older Persons (1st October) celebrates the ‘Journey to Age Equality’, we are coming together to show our commitment to ending the outdated attitudes that prevent too many of us from making the most of our longer lives.

2019 marks 50 years since the term ‘ageism’ was coined by Robert Butler in 1969. And yet research shows that today, later life is still strongly associated with being frail, lonely and sad.

Like all forms of prejudice and discrimination, even seemingly casual ageism is deeply damaging both to individuals and to our communities, with recent research suggesting that a quarter of people over 50 have felt discriminated against whilst doing everyday tasks or accessing services. Even seemingly positive phrases like ‘you look young for your age’ can reinforce damaging stereotypes.

So today, as leaders from across the UK who have committed to making our communities great places to grow old in, we are pledging to change the way we talk about ageing.

Many of us are living for longer, so it’s vital we are all able to make the most of these extra years – and that must start with thinking and talking differently about ageing. From the greater self-confidence many feel in later life to the wealth of experience older workers bring to their workplaces, it’s time we recognised the many opportunities of later life – and began to speak in a way that reflects them.

If we are to make real progress on the road to age equality, we must all work to root out ageism in our own communities and organisations. We will challenge ageism wherever we see it, whether it’s in public or in private, and ensure that the voices of older people are at the heart of our local decision- making.

As well as making this commitment, we’re asking everyone to join us on this journey: we can all re-think our own prejudices, think more carefully about the impact our words can have on others, and be part of a movement to end ageism once and for all.

This letter has been co-ordinated by the UK Network of Age-Friendly Communities, part of a WHO Global network of over 1,000 places committed to fostering healthy and active ageing.

You can show your support and join the movement on social media using #AgeProud.

Motion proposed and seconded:

Council welcomes the international recognition that Manchester has by being the first City to be recognised as an Age Friendly City by the World Health Organisation. The Age Friendly Manchester Older People’s Board, established in 2004, has ensured the voice of older people is placed at the heart of the Council.

To coincide with the United Nations’ International Day of Older People (IDOP), events are taking place this week to celebrate the achievements and contributions that older people make to our City.

Council celebrates the myriad of roles older people play. We acknowledge and value older people for the contribution they make to local communities. We recognise the unique set of skills, experience and knowledge older people bring to the workplace and the third sector.

Age Friendly Manchester is a founder member of the UK Network of Age Friendly Communities and continues to play an instrumental role in its development. To mark IDOP, and in the 50th year of Ageism (the term was coined in 1969), the Network has written an open letter to support a public call to action and to show commitment to combat ageism by challenging outdated language and stereotypes. Today, Council welcomes, endorses and signs the IDOP open letter.

This motion calls on the Council to:

1.         Promote positive images of ageing in all of our communications We need to tackle the narrative around ageing. We call on people, services and partners to recognise the need to change both the language and images used when talking about (and with) older people.

2.      Support ongoing activity to raise awareness of the benefits of older workers,pushing employers to change their approaches to recruiting, reskilling and retaining older employees. Council further supports the need for innovative and radically new ideas and options to support people aged 50-64 who are out of work, to enable them to age well, live well and improve their overall quality of life.

3.      Champion more age-friendly activity and infrastructure in our neighbourhoods,so more older residents can age well in their local communities, with access to the right services, housing, information, infrastructure and opportunities - social, cultural or economic. The voice of older people must be heard to ensure that they continue to contribute to and take a leading role where they live.

Resolution

The motion was put to Council and voted on and the Lord Mayor declared that is was carried unanimously.

Decision

Council welcomes the international recognition that Manchester has by being the first City to be recognised as an Age Friendly City by the World Health Organisation. The Age Friendly Manchester Older People’s Board, established in 2004, has ensured the voice of older people is placed at the heart of the Council.

To coincide with the United Nations’ International Day of Older People (IDOP), events are taking place this week to celebrate the achievements and contributions that older people make to our City.

Council celebrates the myriad of roles older people play. We acknowledge and value older people for the contribution they make to local communities. We recognise the unique set of skills, experience and knowledge older people bring to the workplace and the third sector.

Age Friendly Manchester is a founder member of the UK Network of Age Friendly Communities and continues to play an instrumental role in its development. To mark IDOP, and in the 50th year of Ageism (the term was coined in 1969), the Network has written an open letter to support a public call to action and to show commitment to combat ageism by challenging outdated language and stereotypes. Today, Council welcomes, endorses and signs the IDOP open letter.

This motion calls on the Council to:

1.         Promote positive images of ageing in all of our communications We need to tackle the narrative around ageing. We call on people, services and partners to recognise the need to change both the language and images used when talking about (and with) older people.

2.         Support ongoing activity to raise awareness of the benefits of older workers, pushing employers to change their approaches to recruiting, reskilling and retaining older employees. Council further supports the need for innovative and radically new ideas and options to support people aged 50-64 who are out of work, to enable them to age well, live well and improve their overall quality of life.

3.         Champion more age-friendly activity and infrastructure in our neighbourhoods,so more older residents can age well in their local communities, with access to the right services, housing, information, infrastructure and opportunities - social, cultural or economic. The voice of older people must be heard to ensure that they continue to contribute to and take a leading role where they live.