DO YOU KNOW A YOUNG PERSON WHO WOULD LIKE TO SPEND ‘A WEEK IN AN OLDER PERSONS SHOES’?

Age Action and our Affiliate HelpAge International are embarking on a campaign with other EU countries to raise awareness amongst young people in Europe of the challenges facing older people around the world.  This is particularly important this year as 2012 is the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations.

To mark the build-up to Europe’s ‘Day of Solidarity between Generations’ this April,HelpAge International have uncovered that Europe’s youth are in the dark on ageing. They are the ‘Generation 2050’, the first generation to hit old age and discover they are the largest demographic group in our world, but do they know what to expect?

We are aiming to challenge young people between 18 and 30 year olds across the UK, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Ireland and those in Sub-sahara Africa  to understand and act upon the issues facing older people globally, consider how they contribute to poverty reduction, and encourage young people to lobby the EU Commission, MEPs and Heads of States to ensure older people are not marginalised, wherever they live. The project is part of our global grassroots campaign Age Demands Action (www.agedemandsaction.org).  Targeted messages will be developed for the ‘Generation 2050’ around the idea of ‘What if’ older people did not exist in the world?

To highlight the importance of this campaign, we are seeking a younger person between the ages of 18-30 in Ireland to take part in, ‘My Week Getting Old’. We are asking a young person to spend ‘a week in an older persons shoes’ and to provide feedback through and report on their experience through  photographs, social media, blogs and videos  of what they experienced.  This is a fantastic opportunity for students who are passionate about campaigns work or who want to learn more about advocacy at the European Union level. 

The insight from the young people will be used as part of an online campaign and feature online to encourage more young people across Europe to get involved in the campaign.

Who are we looking for?

Age:The ideal age range is between 18-25 years old

Sex:Male or Female

Location:The young person is being asked to spend a week interacting with their grandparent(s) or older person that they know. This does not mean they have to live with them but ideally they would be able to visit them on a daily basis easily.

What will they have to do?

• Spend a week living/interacting with their grandparent or older person that they know
• Interact, observe and ask questions of what it is like to be old in Ireland?
• Interview their grandparent(s) / older person with questions provided by HelpAge International / Age Action Ireland.
• Keep a diary of the experience – extracts of which will be used in social and print media (after their approval)
• Be open to share their experience with their peers through communication outlets (i.e. Facebook)
• Be available for interview/photography meeting with national media outlets – their grandparents(s) should also ideally be part of this.
• Are interested to become our young campaign champions who will mobilise youth to join the campaign and are willing to share their story with MEPs and the European Union.

What will they get from the experience?

• They will play a part in an exciting, innovative and creative campaign which aims to help older people live better lives across the world.
• We also hope that this will be an experience for them to either address concerns they have about ageing in their country and/or spend more time with their grandparent(s) / older people and question what does life really mean when you are old?
• Their ‘week in older shoes’ and subsequent media work will be the cornerstone of the online campaign and media work to address the global ageing crisis.
• A small fee will be also offered to cover any out-of-pocket expenses.

If you know a young person who would be interested in taking part in this in this exciting campaign and for more information, please contact Keelin McCarthy at keelin.mccarthy@ageaction.ie

Or if you just want to take part in the Age Demands Action Campaign, find out more information and sign our petition please go here: http://www.ageaction.ie/global-education/sign-eu-petition.