News: in detail
back to News Headlines

Help the Aged Conference, Dundee

Keynote Speaker
Consultation and Engagement
Special Guest Speaker
Closing Address

Members of the Executive Committee of the Perth and Kinross Pensioners Forum attended a 2-day conference in the West Park Conference Centre, Dundee.

"Speaking up for our age" was the theme of the well-attended conference, which was opened by the Lord Provost of Dundee, John Letford.

The keynote speaker was Jack Stewart, Chairman of the Perth and Kinross Pensioners Forum. Jack's theme was "Why a Questionnaire?"

Perth and Kinross Pensioners Forum organised a questionnaire to cover Highland Perthshire asking the elderly which facilities are available in their area.

In the later part of 2003 the Forum began work on a project, funded by direcrt grants form the Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations. The project did not set out to be comprehensive, but rather to inform the pensioners on two counts:
1. What information is already available
2. Tried and tested questions, which will be very useful inthe future and especially when information is updated.

Also speaking at the conference was Sheila MacKay O.B.E. from the Highlands Senior Citizens Network who spoke of the need for more facilities in the remote part of the Highlands.

The Conference then assembled into Workshops which were highly charged affairs.

Consultation and Engagement was the final theme of the Conference with three local authorities taking part:

Viven Smith, Community Planning Manager, Angus Council	Lyn Winters, Policy Planning Officer, P& K Council	Sinead O'Donnell, Policy Officer, Fife Council

The Special Guest Speaker at the conference was Molly Saiger who is Project Officer with the Institute for Senior Action in New York, U.S.A. Molly gave the Conference an insight into the way Elderly Forums are organised in the U.S.A. and also how the pensions schemes, hospital and drug systems work.

Molly Saiger, Policy Officer, Institute for Senior Action, New York, USA

This year's Conference was closed by Help The Aged's Executive Officer, Liz Duncan.

Liz Duncan, Executive Officer, Help the Aged

Special thanks to Scottish Project Officer Tara Anderson for such well-executed conference arrangements.

top of page

back to News Headlines