Monmouthshire has joined a growing global movement aimed at better serving its older residents.

During the full council meeting in January 2024, the councillors voted to pursue Monmouthshire’s designation as an Age-Friendly County. This was followed by a survey targeting residents aged 50 and over. The survey conducted aimed to put our residents at the centre of our efforts in creating an age-friendly county, allowing those who took part to share their lived experiences on what works well and what needs improvement.

The information provided by the survey and the council’s work with local businesses, third-sector organisations, statutory partners, and the wider community has allowed us to become members of The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Global Network for Age-friendly Cities and Communities.

The WHO’s Global Network for Age-friendly Cities and Communities was established in 2010 to connect cities, communities, and organisations worldwide with the shared vision of making their communities great places to live.

By joining this Network, Monmouthshire commits to promoting and upholding the values and principles central to the WHO Age-friendly approach. The Network’s mission is to stimulate and empower cities and communities worldwide to become increasingly age-friendly. To achieve this, the Network focuses on:

• inspiring change by showing what can be done and how it can be done;
• connecting communities worldwide to facilitate the exchange of information, knowledge and experience; and
• supporting communities to find appropriate, innovative and evidence-based solutions.

Monmouthshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Social Care, Safeguarding and Accessible Health Services, said: “This is a significant step in our journey to ensure that Monmouthshire is a county where our older adults can live comfortably, participate fully in civic life, and continue to contribute meaningfully.

“Building on our extensive consultation with older residents, we will continue to ensure that the voices of older people are at the centre of our efforts to create a more age-friendly county”.

Monmouthshire County Council’s Older People’s Champion, Cllr Jackie Strong, said: “By becoming a member, we can learn from communities from around the world about their efforts to create age-friendly environments. I look forward to learning from these communities and sharing the work already happening in our communities every day.”

To find out more about the WHO Global Network for Age-friendly Cities and Communities, visit: https://extranet.who.int/agefriendlyworld/who-network/