Lambeth’s first Ageing Well festival saw Lambeth Council, partners and communities come together to celebrate ageing and the valuable contribution older residents make to the borough. The event, at the Kia Oval on 30 September, designed as a fun and social day for the over-50s, attracted over 300 people. The day included activities such as crafts, memory cartographers – who captured people’s precious memories and stories and made them into artwork, spinach planting, dominoes, keep fit sessions, a choir (with spontaneous dancing) and a tea dance.
More than twenty stalls gave out information and advice on key areas that support healthy ageing. This included employment and skills; travel and leisure; housing; keeping connected; community life; financial wellbeing; and health and care. The Health and Wellbeing bus gave 60 Flu and Covid-19 vaccinations and had many conversations about ageing well.
information stalls on key areas on ageing well
The date for the free, drop-in event was chosen to celebrate International Day of Older Persons on 1 October.
Lifelong borough
For 2030 and beyond, Lambeth plans to become a lifelong borough where all residents are respected and included – at once a great place to grow up and age well.
Age UK Lambeth Chief Executive Paul Coles gave a welcome speech, outlining the aims of Age Friendly Lambeth – a commitment to work in partnership to create a borough that meets the needs of an ageing population and enables older people to enjoy life, participate in society and be valued for their contribution. As members of the UK Network of Age Friendly Communities, the approach taken in Lambeth will build on the World Health Organisation’s Age Friendly Cities framework. A resident said, “This has been a wonderful day out for me and I think everyone else. I enjoyed coming, meeting up with a few old faces and chatting.”
Involving residents
Information from Lambeth & partners
The Ageing Well Festival follows on from engagement with the community over the summer months. A survey asked residents what it’s like to grow older in Lambeth and their ideas for making Lambeth a better place to age. Many visitors to Ageing Well Festival left contact details for updates or volunteered to join an older people’s panel helping shape services in the future. Feedback and insights from the event and recent community engagement will inform the Age Friendly Lambeth action plan.
More information
- Find out more about Age Friendly Lambeth
- More about the WHO Age Friendly Cities framework
- See the BBC news report on Lambeth’s X (formerly Twitter) account
