People working towards making Lambeth the best place to age well came together in Lambeth’s Assembly Hall for the latest Age-Friendly Forum to discuss communications, skills, employment and training.
Word from the Cabinet
Cllr Tim Windle, Lambeth Cabinet Member For Healthier Communities and Lead for Age-Friendly Lambeth introduced the event saying: “Ageing well is an important commitment in our Borough Plan for 2030 – making Lambeth the best place to grow up and grow older.
“The Age-Friendly Lambeth Action Plan that you’ve already been part of planning is now ready to go for council approval. It’s about doing things that we must do to support one another as we grow older.”
Global movement
Johnny Zander of Kaizen Partnership, who lead the forum on behalf of Lambeth Council, shared a reminder that age-friendly is not just Lambeth’s ambition, but a global movement begun by the World Health Organisation (WHO) – it’s about bringing together at a local level the different elements that matter as people age – not just health, but transport, work, housing and more. Although there’s a local focus, Lambeth can join with other age-friendly communities across the UK and the Centre for Ageing Better to raise the voice of older residents and the importance of ageing well.
News bulletin
People at each table discussed communications in small groups. The idea of a news bulletin for older people in the borough has already been identified as desirable. This was a chance to focus on what residents most wanted to hear about, whether it was how to give their views, on free or low-cost local activities, council services and more.
Skills and employment
After hearing background information on why the voices of older residents are crucial to developing a Skills and Employment Strategy that works for the whole borough, the groups discussed what training they might want, what they see as barriers to employment for older people and what may help overcome these barriers. Lambeth shared evidence that work can play a key part in health and wellbeing as well as tackling poverty. The vision behind Lambeth’s Skills and Employment Strategy is to build an inclusive economy in Lambeth by creating pathways to work that everyone can access.
Next steps
The next step is to incorporate the views of residents at the forum into the development of Lambeth Council’s work, including the development of the Skills and Employment Strategy.
The next Age-Friendly Forum will be in the Assembly Hall from 10:30 to 12:30 on 1April. Sign up to join us via:
- link: https://brnw.ch/21wR8TJ
- Scan QR code to join Age Friendly Lambeth event 1 April
- QR code (right)
- Email AgeFriendlyLambeth@kaizen.org.uk
- Tel: 0204 536 6321
