Age Friendly

Cavan Age Friendly Initiative
The Cavan Age Friendly Alliance is a partnership of senior public
sector decision-makers, older peopleʼs representatives and other
organisations who are committed to delivering on actions that will
make County Cavan age-friendly.
This initiative has largely been prompted at local level by the work
of the Cavan 050 Network, whose members have been involved in
research and other projects since 2008 to identify and address
older peopleʼs issues in Cavan.
Regional and Global Context
Nationally and globally, the proportion of older people in our
population is growing. According to the World Health Organization,
the number of people aged 60 and over as a proportion of the
global population will double from 11% in 2006 to 22% by 2050. By
then, there will be more older people than children (aged 0–14
years) in the population for the first time in human history.
Now is the time to take steps to ensure that our communities are
fully inclusive of older people.
Areas of Work
Cavanʼs age friendly work will be delivered with reference to the
World Health Organizationʼs guidelines for age-friendly cities,
which are based around the eight themes of:
1 Outdoor Spaces and Public Buildings
2 Transportation
3 Housing
4 Respect and Social Inclusion
5 Social Participation
6 Communication and Information
7 Civic Participation and Employment
8 Community Support and Health Services
Our commitment to including older people
The Cavan Age friendly Alliance recognises that older people are
a resource for their communities, rather than a burden on
society. Older people have much to contribute socially,
economically and culturally.
In seeking to create an age-friendly county, the Alliance
members are giving a formal commitment to improving the social
inclusion of older people in Cavan.
A detailed strategy will be published later in 2012, outlining
specific projects to achieve our goal of an age friendly Cavan.
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