Age needs one voice. Now it has:
Age UK is the new force combining Age Concern England and
Help the Aged in England.
The new force combining &
Those of us over 55 make up a fifth of the UK population. But do we in later life have a big enough say in the decisions that affect our lives? Make your voice heard by joining an independent local forum.
There are more than 620 older people’s local forums in the UK, involving more than 200,000 of us in later life. By working together in independent forums, we are making our voices heard on the issues that matter to us in later life, influencing the planning and provision of services locally, regionally and nationally.
The local forums vary in size from small groups to those with thousands of members, but they all have a number of features in common: they are independent organisations that give us in later life a collective voice, influencing decision-makers on matters that impact on our everyday lives. The forums are democratic and inclusive; they are run independently by older people, for older people. All members are volunteers.
In the local forums we in later life decide our own agenda, share information and raise issues that concern us. As well as campaigning, we often have social activities, run trips and hold open meetings: socialising, meeting new people and keeping in touch with local news.
This booklet has been produced to share good practice on the effective engagement of older people. Stemming from our work with older people’s forums over many years, it demonstrates the value of forums and a wide range of other engagement initiatives.
Download the 'Are you listening' booklet (PDF 5MB)
Speaking Up for Our Age is Age UK’s programme dedicated to supporting the independent local forums. The programme
If you want to join a forum, or start one yourself if there is none local to you, please contact us.
Many of the local forums have their own websites to share information with others. If your forum has a website and you would like to network this way, please contact us and let us know.
Blackburn with Darwen Older People’s Forum'Helping people over 50 in Blackburn with Darwen to enjoy active and fulfilling lives.'
'Sign-posting, discussion, consultation, co-ordinating and campaigning: anyone living in Cambridgeshire is welcome to join Cope and add to our voice.'
Croydon Older People's Network (Open)'Have a voice in Croydon with Open and get right to the heart of the decision-making process by bringing your life's experience to work for your community.'
Dorset Fiftyplus Forums'Local, independent action groups in Dorset, run by people over 50 to improve our quality of life, provide a social network and have fun!'
Dumfries and Galloway Seniors Forum'Giving older people a voice in the affairs of the area in which we live and especially when issues are likely to affect us directly.'
Eastbourne Seniors Forum'A voice for the over 50s. Membership is open to everyone over 50 who lives or works in Eastbourne and the surrounding area.'
Eastleigh Southern Parishes Older People's Forum (ESPOPF)'An independent group of people over 55, providing a platform for the expression of Eastleigh older people's concerns on local and national issues.'
'A voluntary organisation run by and for older people in Newcastle.'
Enfield Borough Over 50s Forum'A non-party political organisation working with local bodies to improve the quality of life for Enfield's older people.'
Gateshead Older People's Assembly'We speak up for all older people in Gateshead; we are their voice.'
Highland Senior Citizens' Network'We are recognised by the statutory authorities and the media as the authentic voice of Highland older people.'
Holbeach Seniors' Link'A forum to represent older people’s interests in the eastern half of South Holland.'
Lincolnshire Seniors Forum'The Association is an umbrella for local forums so that collectively we can be a powerful voice for older people in Lincolnshire.'
Mansfield Wise Owl 50+ Forum'Contact the Mansfield Community and Voluntary Service (CVS) about the Wise Owl 50+ Forum.'
Meridian Mature Citizens Forum'Open to any local organisation dealing with the concerns of older people and to older people living in the Meridian and Downs areas.'
Shropshire Association of Senior Citizen Forums'Bringing the needs of older people in Shropshire to the attention of policy makers.'
Skegness and District Seniors Forum'Open meetings every two months to discuss issues of concern in Skegness and District with local experts.'
'A local non-party political voluntary group, run by and open to older people in Southampton and the surrounding area.'
Swadlincote District 50+ Forum'Projects bringing together people from different generations in Swadlincote.'
Telford and Wrekin Senior Citizens' Forum'Meeting regularly to discuss issues of concern to older people in Telford and Wrekin and take appropriate action.'
Watford Senior Citizens Forum'A powerful voice to speak up for older people in Watford at local and national level, and to get things done.'
Wealden Senior Citizens' Partnership'An independent, voluntary community group for older people in Wealden, helping us enjoy active and independent lives.'
Wolverhampton Over 50s Forum'An independent, non-party political organisation of older people in Wolverhampton, working with government to see that we are heard.'
Download the latest Forum to Forum letter (PDF 17 KB)
Download our Forum to Forum email update (PDF 62 KB)
Set your location to see what Age UK offers in your local area.
Articles and letters by forum members in England, Scotland and Wales, every two months.
Advice and information from campaigning to community development, every two months in Wales.
Downloads
A download is a document (like a research report, a leaflet, or an application form) that can be transferred from our website to your computer. You can download a file, view it on your screen, print it, or save it to your computer.
PDF stands for ‘portable document format’.
Most downloads on this website are PDFs. We use this format to ensure that the document looks the same on everyone’s computer (website pages, by contrast, appear differently depending on how people have set their computer up).
Computers use a program called Adobe Acrobat Reader to download PDFs. If you try clicking on a link to download a PDF and it doesn’t work, you will need to install Adobe Acrobat Reader onto your computer.
The process is quite straightforward and is free.
PDFs cannot be changed. If you need to be able to type into a downloaded document (for example, if we are offering a letter template that you need to put your name on) we will provide it as a Microsoft Word document rather than a PDF. You can then download it, type into it and save it to your computer.
Downloads will open on your computer in a new browser window.
Inside this window (below all your web browser menus), there will be a toolbar with options for you to print or save the document.
Close the browser window to return to the Age UK website.
We have made every effort to make our PDFs accessible to screen readers. Here is an overview of your accessibility options available in Acrobat Reader. Please ensure that you have downloaded the latest version of Acrobat Reader from the Adobe Reader website to ensure that they are included in your version of the programme.
You can use Adobe Reader to read a PDF out loud with the following shortcut keys:
You can also convert a PDF into a web page by following these steps:
You can convert a PDF document into a text file for use with other software and hardware such as Braille printers by opening the PDF and choosing ‘Save as text’ from the File menu.
Updates and resources for forums in England
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