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Age Friendly Island Current Projects

The Age Friendly Island (AFI) project is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund and we are currently in our 7th and last year of funding. We have a number of current projects we will complete this year and you will find further details below. We work with Island organisations and older people to co-produce this work. If you would like to be involved do get in touch.

 

​Digital Connectivity

The group works to encourage organisations to work in a consistent, co-ordinated way, to ensure that people who want to become or remain digitally connected, can do so. The group has four sub-groups working to deliver the overall goal.

The following organisations are involved in the Digital Connectivity steering group:

  • Adult and Community Learning 
  • Age Friendly Island        
  • Age UK IW        
  • Barclays Digital Eagles   
  • Census 2021
  • Citizen Advice Bureau   
  • Independent Arts
  • IWC      
  • Seaview and Nettlestone Parish Council
  • 3 Ts Project       
  • Sight for Wight 
  • Sovereign Housing         
  • Trading Standards          
  • West Wight Hub                          
  • Wightfibre        

The Digital Connectivity Steering Group carried out a survey in 2021 to find out about older people’s experiences of using digital technology. The report highlighted what help people would like to become more digitally connected or to develop their digital skills.

 Thank you to everyone who completed the survey.

Digital Survey Report

In response to the report recommendations, the Digital Connectivity Steering Group is developing various support tools to enable older people to access digital medical services and to assist older people with online safety. The recommendations of the report will be used to further develop our support services with the aim of improving digital confidence, knowledge and access to digital opportunities.

Pavements For People

Age UKIW and Island Roads work together on access issues for older people

A project to look at access issues for older people by Age UK IW has led to a new partnership with Island Roads.

The ‘Pavements for People’ project which explores common access issues for older people, has been co-produced by members of the Age UK IW Older Persons’ Steering Group, the Age Friendly Island team and Island Roads.

A useful resource has been created that covers topics such as parking on pavements, overhanging hedges and various trip or slip hazards and explains which organisations are responsible for access issues and how to report matters of concern.

Find Out More

​Environment

The group provides feedback for how public spaces can be adapted to help with social distancing and ensuring Age Friendly principles are met. These adaptations are a direct response to Covid-19 with the easing of lockdown and the implications this has.

The group created a set of ‘Out & About’ Cards with the IWC to help people to feel more confident to navigate social distancing and other Covid-secure measures that are now in place.

Find out more here:

Out & About Cards

Out and About Cards | Centre for Ageing Better

The group will also be working with the Heritage Action Zones in Newport and Ryde to give a voice to the issues and concerns of older people during the consultation phase.

Making Consultation Accessible

As a response to discussions with members of the public, voluntary and statutory organisations on the Isle of Wight, a Task and Finish group was established in November 2021  to agree and map out principles to ensure that public facing consultations are accessible to all who want to participate.

 Members of the Task and finish group are:

Age Friendly Island

  • Age Friendly Island
  • Isle of Wight Council
  • Royal National Institute for the Deaf
  • Royal National Institute for the Blind
  • NHS Lived Experience
  • NHS Lived Experience
  • Sight for Wight
  • People Matter IW

This led to five strands of work:

  • Audit Tool: This audit tool is designed for departments who design and deliver services, such as Commissioners. Designed for external public facing consultations. Internal and external audit.
  • Training modules: A specifically developed and trialled set of three modules for members of the public, staff and commissioners.
  • Making Consultation Accessible Champion: A role description for a lead within an organisation/department to support and encourage.
  • Briefing for elected members: The leaflet will support elected members when working with Isle of Wight Council Officers.
  • Leaflet for members of the public: The leaflet will enable members of the public to know how to ask for access to consultations that affect them.

Please get in touch with Age UKIW to find out more.

Employment

The Isle of Wight Council have been working with the Age Friendly Island Team, based at Age UKIW, to better understand how it can support its employees who are over the age of 50. The Isle of Wight Council has 42.5% (as of May 2020) who fall into this group, with ten employees over the age of 70.

Supporting people to be in good quality work for as long they want is critical for their financial security now and into the future, as well as a vital opportunity to help them manage their health and improve their wellbeing.  Centre for Ageing Better

Centre for Ageing Better: Becoming an Age Friendly Employer

 

​Celebrating Age Festival

The Celebrating Age Festival was last held in 2019 and has been on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year we are linking to the national campaign focusing on Valuable not Vulnerable.

Find out more about previous festivals

Find out more about our Valuable Not Vulnerable Campaign