All local authorities in Wales have a Strategy for Older People Co-ordinator to work with older people through the ‘50+ Forum’ and to feed these views directly to their council.
The National Partnership Forum for Older People (NPF) functions at an all Wales level and today the Deputy Minister visited the NPF stand at the National Eisteddfod to see how older people are helping Local Authorities to modify services and facilities for the future.
In response to these changing times the NPF is developing a new website to provide information about its activities but more importantly it will create a gateway to encourage the older person to air their views and share their concerns with their peers.
Blogging and posting comments should not only be the domain of the young and this interactive website will be developed to meet these changing needs. Most Local Authority Libraries in Wales offer training and free access to the internet so accessing to the web should not be too difficult.
Gwenda Thomas said:
“We are fast becoming an ageing society and the sooner we all understand this, the sooner we can make good decisions about how we effectively plan for these changes. The National Partnership Forum for Older People in Wales and the Local Authority 50+ Forums are my eyes and ears to these changes and I welcome all opportunities for developing innovative ways of engaging with our ageing population.
“If you don’t participate you don’t have a voice and if you are not heard we won’t know what you need. So take this opportunity to visit the website and share your views and opinions with us on all aspects of ageing.â€
