Political and civic life

Published by the European Theatre Convention (ETC) as part of the two-year creative theatre research project 'The Art of Ageing', the creative research publication 'Bringing the burning issue of demographic change to Europe's stages' provides in-depth information on all Art of Ageing theatre collaborations, with contributions of field experts, academics and scientists.

Academic researchers play a crucial role in helping society fully understand its past, analyse its present and weigh up its future, but when it comes to policy-making, there is scope to improve the application of research evidence.

It took six years just to write the national ageing strategy but it seems that there is no still urgency by the State towards implementing the plan, writes Justin Moran, Age Action Ireland in the Irish Examiner.  

The National Positive Ageing Strategy was supposed to outline Ireland’s vision for ageing and older people, to provide a blueprint for how policies and services could be designed to protect the rights of older people.

Many more older people are likely to vote in next month’s UK general elections than younger age groups. In 2010, some 76% of people over 65 turned out compared to just 44% of people aged between 18 to 24. But, according to anecdotal evidence from care professionals, when it comes to older people relying on support in the community or living in residential care homes the voting figure drops to under 20%. Read more here.