1) Can you share some details about the policy context addressed by your Action Plan and on how its implementation will contribute to improving the policy instruments tackled within your region?
The main objective of our Action Plan is to address the issue of ageism within County Louth. This will be achieved by inserting an action into the Louth Local Economic and Community Plan 2022 – 2028 to provide ageism awareness training across public and private service deliveries; and community groups. The Local Economic and Community Plan (LECP) sets out the objectives and actions needed to promote and support local economic and community development. The plan serves as the primary strategy document guiding development in County Louth.
2) Which are the actions you are going to implement and how much have they got inspired by the EU_SHAFE project’s activities devoted to the interregional exchange of experiences?
Addressing ageism is critical for creating a more equal world in which the dignity and rights of every human being are respected and protected. This is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the world’s agreed blueprint for building a future of peace and prosperity for all on a healthy planet.
According to a 2011 Atlantic Philanthropies report, ageism in Ireland affects older adults in a number of ways, including;
- Age based limitations in health and social care treatments and benefits
- Workplace ageism and a prejudicial age-based retirementAge based limitations in Financial Services
- Stereotypical media representations
We have based our action plan on the areas highlighted within the report.
Our research to date has demonstrated that ageism is widespread in the media, the health sector, financial services and the workplace and that there is a need for ageism awareness training. As the world’s population ages, now would seem an opportune time to address this issue. Our Action Plan will address the issue of ageism through the LECP, “An Age Friendly Society” goal by delivering ageism awareness training to key sectors within the county.
Inspired by Good Practice Gizadiberri – Bizkaia, our action plan aims to combat ageism through a dedicated ageism awareness training action within the LECP. A communicative project that aims to promote a deep, critical and respectful public debate on social issues, such as the risk of social exclusion, disability, older people and the lack of protections, our action was inspired by the project’s work on ageism. While it is not the aim of this action plan to replicate in full the Gizadiberri Good Practice, which includes an online space for discussion, it has been inspired by that part of the project which seeks to tackle ageism through monitoring the language and social imagery used in conjunction with older people and the delivery of workshops to raise awareness on the issue.
3) On which main financial sources you will leverage for the execution of the actions envisaged and which is the related time frame for their completion?
The Action Plan will be funded by Louth County Council and the Louth Age Friendly Budget. Desk research on ageism has already started and in September we will start consultation with our stakeholder groups across a broad range of sectors. In early 2023, a submission will be made to the LECP Consultation process. An evaluation of the Action Plan and Final Report will be issued in April/May 2023.
