Tag: age allies project

Age Allies

Age Allies Blog #8 – Age/ncy: Our Findings

George HarveyAge Allies

In April of this year, Age UK London’s Age Allies project took part in “Age/ncy”, an intergenerational arts display organised by Flourishing Lives at Tate Modern. Of the course of the weekend, dozens of organisations from across London put on exhibitions, workshops, installations and performances that challenged stereotypical assumptions of older people.

We have now had time to reflect on the weekend as a whole and to assess all the information we received when running our workshops. Let’s take a look at some of the findings…

Age Allies #3 – A Senior Moment?

Richard NormanAge Allies

“The use of such negative language about older people is habitual and has become so mainstream, we hardly recognise we’re doing it. But the effects and consequences of our choice of vocabulary run deep. This socially ingrained ageism can become self-fulfilling as it repeats stereotypes of physical and mental decline, social isolation, and economic burden. There are only so many times you need to be told that you are helpless or dependent before you start to believe it.”

In the third of Age UK London’s monthly Age Allies blogs, Richard Norman explores the phrase “senior moment” and questions why such negative stereotypes feature when we discuss ageing.

Age Allies – Tackling Age Discrimination

Richard NormanAge Allies

“I recently discovered that I am categorised as a “Second-wave Baby Boomer”. This (apparently) identifies my generation. I can’t say I’d ever really considered it before – after all age is just a number, right? Had I been born four years later it would have been “Generation X”, sixteen years earlier and I would be one of the “Silent Generation”.

Do these labels carry any weight? Is there a typical baby boomer? Surely within each age identifying category people are as diverse as in any other? How can there possibly be a typical older person?”

All very good questions which we hope to answer with our new Age Allies project – a brand new programme to help combat age discrimination across the capital. Project leader Richard Norman tells us more…