‘Active Ageing Festival’ – half day event creating awareness of the importance of Active Ageing

Description

On Wednesday 22nd March 2023, the Active Ageing Festival took place at the Kerry Sports Academy in Tralee, Co. Kerry. The incredible early demand to register was a sign of the interest and eagerness of the community of Kerry to learn more about active ageing.
The organisers offered a variety of ways for people to register, including online, phone and in person at the registration desk of the host facility, Kerry Sports Academy.
On the day, 150 attendees engaged with a busy schedule of activities, facilitated by the experienced and qualified activity leaders and the students and staff of the Department of Health and Leisure Studies (MTU) all with the same goal of supporting good health in later years for older people to continue to play an active role in community life.
Dr. Barry Moynihan, Consultant Geriatrician in the University Hospital Kerry opened the event with an informative talk on the importance of movement as we age. Many community organisations and networks were represented on the day such as Kerry County Council, Age Friendly Kerry, HSE, Sport Ireland, Baile Mhuire, Kerry Library, Kerry Call, Sean Chairde, Centre of Smart Ageing, Probus and Age & Opportunity. Participants had the opportunity to mingle in a social space while engaging with the community representatives.
The MTU students facilitated a functional fitness check with components such as flexibility, balance and posture to the fore. Activities were carefully selected, with the organisers being conscious of making sustainable links for the attendees to be able to join these activities in their own communities after the event. Activities including Pickleball, Bowls, Better Balance Better Bones, Dance and Yoga were showcased, with Kathleen Fitzgerald of Age and Opportunity closing the event with a group dance and cool down.
The social aspect was a key component of this event. The event organisers provided a free lunch and sit-down space for participants and attendees to mix, chat and catch up. This was further enhanced with staff and students presenting an exhibition of Irish dancing and singing as light entertainment for all in attendance.
The Dept. of Health and Leisure at MTU Kerry promotes the concept of being active across the lifespan. Primarily this initiative gave the students the opportunity to engage in real life learning while also supporting the running of a valuable event. Older people can generate community-based learning experiences not only for themselves but also for the young and this idea of inter-generational learning is a creative approach to teaching and learning.
This was the 2nd year of the event and has captured incredible interest in the region. So much so that Kerry Recreation & Sports Partnership are planning to meet the demand and offer satellite versions of the event in numerous locations across Kerry in 2024.

Aim of Initiative

1. Create awareness around the concept of Active Ageing among older people in Kerry and how good health in later years for older people supports them to continue to play an active role in community life.
2. To encourage social inclusion and equal opportunities in sport and activity.
3. To strengthen cooperation between sporting organisations, older adult organisations and communities and health stakeholders.
4. Provide an opportunity for 3rd level students to work and engage with older adults in a real-life setting.

Who is it aimed at

The initiative is aimed at older adults from the Kerry region.
It also empowers the older adult population to be involved in planning the event and activities/sessions they feel would both appeal and be beneficial to the attendees. This event encompasses collaboration done well, with key stakeholders, local community groups and partners all working together.

3 Steps critical to success

1. Reflection: Review of pilot event from 2022 was essential as learnings and feedback enhanced the event for 2023.
2. Partnership and collaboration: All stakeholders including Older adults, students, community representatives and public were extremely positive and focused on working together.
3. Attitude: The open and positive attitude displayed by the participants ensured that the event was a success. From the outset, they were open to learning, showed warmth and patience to the students and generally kept the atmosphere buzzing.

3 Challenges in Planning / Delivery

1. The promotion and recruitment of the event: The event could have been filled three times over if the space had allowed. As this is such a diverse, wide-ranging span of a population, it is a challenge to narrow the focus on who would benefit from this event the most. Should it be aimed at the younger cohort that are preparing for Ageing and potentially could prevent some of the consequences of being inactive or should we focus on the older cohort to introduce them to this concept?

   Diverse range of attendees: it is a challenge to cater for the diverse range of interests that the attendees present with. In trying to cover multiple tasters, the event can become rushed and some participants would prefer less and more time to socialise.

2. Another challenge was trying to encourage men to attend the event in big numbers. Initially there was some outreach done to try and entice them to the event for example some Men’s Sheds were contacted locally, however it failed to attract men in any significant numbers. More work needs to be done in this area going forward.
3. Demand: This population are demanding more events and initiatives similar to this, which unfortunately cannot be delivered in its current format more than annually. There is an opportunity to develop a scaled back version that can ‘go on tour’ and thus provide more access to people in more isolated areas of the region.
   Other aspects mentioned were transport to the campus for those who do not have the means. We have taken this into consideration for next year and will look at a commuter shuttle bus from the town and have already engaged with Local Link on this front.

3 Outcomes / Benefits

1. The participants are more aware of the benefits of movement and active ageing. They are also more informed of the social benefits of belonging and staying involved with groups and activities. The activities on display were all activities either currently available or in development for the region, thus providing a signpost via the Kerry Recreation & Sports Partnership to the relevant activities and supports.
2. The community groups represented are now more familiar with each other and have had the opportunity to exchange information. The event, under the umbrella of ‘Active Ageing’ brought together some groups/organisations that might not have connected prior. For example, the Centre for Smarter Ageing met with the HSE Health Improvement officers for the first time.
3. Capacity: The 3rd level students have more of an appreciation for the diversity of this population and it challenged some of their assumptions regarding older adults being active. This type of learning can be difficult to realise in a classroom setting. With students coming from Kerry and all over Ireland, this positive experience gets taken back to their own communities and thus creates capacity and willingness to deliver and encourage the message of how good health in later years for older people supports them to continue to play an active role in community life.