World Efforts

A number of initiatives and actions have been implemented. Examples include:

• "Seniors Information Online", which is an online platform providing information for seniors on a variety of areas such as legal and safety, health and well-being, accommodation, recreation, lifelong learning and volunteering
• The annual Canberra Gold Award that recognises and honours the contribution of centenarians who have made long-term commitment to the ACT
• Publishing of the ACT Business Guides to Older Customers and to Mature Workers
• The launch of Older Persons Assembly representing Canberra's older persons community to discuss resolutions to improve the age-friendliness of ACT.

Website :
http://www.communityservices.act.gov.au/wac/ageing

The following achievements have been made:

• Setting up health check stations in community centres and convenience stores
• Rendering pick-up and transportation services for elders to attend events
• Training employees in the service sector to show respect for elderly people
• Organising the "Grandparents Festival"
• Providing vocational training courses and subsidy to older people

Website :
http://www.chiayi.gov.tw/agefriendly/eproject_02_01.asp

Website:
https://extranet.who.int/agefriendlyworld/network/la-plata/

Website :
http://www.london.ca/agefriendly

A range of county-wide projects and initiatives were also implemented, including:

• The Intergenerational Participatory Arts Project involving retirement groups and school students working together to create artworks
• The Louth Old People’s Forum (which is joined by older people, advocacy groups, service providers and community stakeholders) that organises regular meetings to discuss the needs of older people
  
  

Website :
http://agefriendlyireland.ie/map/louth-age-friendly/

Website :
http://www.manchester.gov.uk/agefriendly

Website: 
https://extranet.who.int/agefriendlyworld/network/qiqihar/

Website :
http://afc.welfare.seoul.kr/afc/sub01/e-sub01.action

Domain: Transportation

Bus Coin Project

Older people in Akita are entitled to ride a bus at an affordable price of 100 yen or are provided with free alternative transportation. Feedback on the programme has been positive. In particular, the simplicity in paying bus fares and more convenient access to social activities and healthcare services are highly valued by elderly people.

Website :
https://extranet.who.int/agefriendlyworld/coin-bus-project/

Domain: Respect and Social Inclusion

Age-friendly Business

The Age-friendly Business initiative is an educational outreach campaign that provides practical tips to help businesses become more age-friendly and attract older customers (e.g. providing information on how businesses can provide quality service for older adults with difficulty of mobility, vision and hearing impairments and dementia). Participating businesses receive a window sticker with the slogan "We are friendly". They are also included in an Age-Friendly Business Guide developed in 2015 and the web-based Age-Friendly Places Map.

Website :
https://extranet.who.int/agefriendlyworld/age-friendly-business-guide-in-basque-country/

Domain: Civic Participation and Employment

Age-friendly Belfast Older Volunteer Awards

Senior citizen volunteers received awards of appreciation and recognition of their voluntary contributions and positive impacts they have made to the work of a wide variety of organisations and groups in Belfast. There are five different award categories, which include Participation Award, Arts and Culture Award, Older Volunteer of the Year Award, Team or Group Award, and Intergenerational Team Award.

Website :
http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/community/Volunteering/oldervolunteerawards.aspx

Domain: Social Participation

Elder Home

The "Elder Home" initiative is a home-based service model that provides older people with opportunities to socialise and improve their skills and capabilities through a series of activities held in the Elder Home every day. These include poetry and book reading, arts and craft courses, as well as choir, theatre, and dance performances. Other educational programmes and sporting events are also held at the Elder Home.

Three Elder Home branches were established in lower-class, middle-income and high-income neighbourhoods respectively to cater for different needs of older people. Some participants reported that they have become more productive, more sociable and happier.

Website :
https://extranet.who.int/datacol/custom_view_report.asp?survey_id=3536&view_id=6302&respondent_id=275586

Domain: Outdoor Spaces and Buildings

CityBench Programme

The CityBench Programme is an initiative to increase public seating around New York City, especially for the elderly and the disabled. In addition to encouraging New Yorkers to request a bench where they see a lack of seating, the programme has identified priority bench locations for installation, including bus stops without shelters, sidewalks near transit facilities (e.g. subway stations), senior centres, hospitals and community health centres, commercial zones and shopping districts, as well as municipal facilities (e.g., public libraries, schools).

Website :
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/pedestrians/citybench.shtml
 

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Domain: Communication and Information

Age-friendly College

An online database, namely "Age-friendly NYC College Link", has been developed to enable older adults to have more education opportunities. The database provides information of courses, programmes, activities, events and resources to older adults at local colleges and universities. Examples include: senior discounts or free access to courses and campus events; classes in computer technology, money management, foreign languages, and many other subjects; job skills training programmes; public lecture series; and other programmes designed especially for older adults.

Website :
http://www.agefriendlycollege.org/content/about-database

Domain: Respect and Social Inclusion

"School crossing patroller"

Retired people were trained and assigned to Odivelas country schools as patrollers. They would receive daily wages and bus passes for their work. This project ensures the safety of students when crossing the street while also promoting active and healthy ageing of older people in the county.

Website :
https://extranet.who.int/datacol/custom_view_report.asp?survey_id=3536&view_id=6302&respondent_id=275593

Domain: Community support and health services

Recognising Volunteering Seniors

The Council for Senior Citizens hosted a conference for volunteering seniors in April 2015 in which senior citizen volunteers received awards of appreciation and recognition of their voluntary contributions. During the conference, new volunteers were also recruited to promote voluntary work across the city. The Council for Senior Citizens aims to make this a regular event given the positive feedback received.

Website :
https://extranet.who.int/datacol/custom_view_report.asp?survey_id=3536&view_id=6302&respondent_id=275601

Domain: Social Participation

Computer Training Curriculum for Older Adults

The Ottawa Public Library developed a computer literacy and internet safety curriculum for older adults, which covered modules ranging from using a mouse to searching the Internet and using web-based email. A "train the trainer" approach was developed to train community volunteers to present the programmes to older adults in community centres and seniors' residences. This initiative not only improves residents’ access to city information, but also enhances social inclusion and social participation.

Website :
http://biblioottawalibrary.ca/en/infonet

Domain: Respect and Social Inclusion

Age-friendly Garden City Shopping Centre

The City of Melville developed a project "Age-Friendly Garden City Shopping Centre" in partnership with one of the biggest shopping centres called "Garden City". The project aims to encourage local businesses to implement age-friendly and accessible initiatives to support older population and people with disabilities, such as providing large print customer directory.

Website :
http://www.melvillecity.com.au/seniors

Domain: Housing

Older Adults Housing Directory

The Mayor's Advisory Committee of Age-friendly Waterloo presented an action plan to develop the city to be a sustainable, age-friendly community. One of the recommendations was to develop an older adult housing directory. In addition to basic information such as contact details, cost, number of units, unit sizes and level of care available, this directory also provides information about amenities at different locations and in the surrounding neighbourhood.

Website :
http://www.waterloo.ca/agefriendly

Domain: Community Support and Health Services

Eye camps for older people

The target participants of the eye camps are older people living in Wellawaya who are at risk of losing their eye-sight due to cataract, and those who are experiencing deteriorate vision but cannot afford glasses or surgery.

A mobile eye camp is a converted bus that is fully equipped with screening facilities and a team of professionals. It travels to pre-selected venues within the city to help older people test their eye-sight and provides them with free glasses, guidance on proper eye care and referral to eye hospitals for free cataract surgeries if necessary. The local community can play a part in the coordinating work and contribute by providing space for the eye camps. Many older people benefited from this initiative which has become an ongoing practice in Wellawaya.

Website :
https://extranet.who.int/datacol/custom_view_report.asp?survey_id=3536&view_id=6302&respondent_id=275560