Marginalised Ageing and Inclusive Systems Webinar Series 2021

Marginalised Ageing and Inclusive Systems During COVID-19

Informing new directions in public policy through research with diverse and vulnerable older adult groups

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the marginalities of ageing experiences for many groups of older adults. It has also demonstrated the pervasiveness of inequalities for these groups and the absence of their voice across social and economic, civic and health spheres. These challenges to inclusivity, however, are longstanding – despite being more acute in form and impact since the onset of the pandemic. Arguably, they emerge from different degrees of: our collective complacency; deficiencies in our support systems; and how we view and position ageing and older people within our polices, practices and communities. But how can we distil learning from this recent unsettling and uncertain period, when, thus far, the perspective of marginalised older adults have not been sufficiently captured within research published on and around the COVID-19 crisis. Without these perspectives, our criteria for policy development, resource allocation and, ultimately, inclusive societies, are always likely to be skewed and unequal.

In collaboration with the Irish Gerontological Society (IGS), the Irish Centre for Social Gerontology (ICSG) and the Centre for Economic and Social Research on Dementia (CESRD), at NUI Galway, will begin to address this deficit in the four-seminar Marginalised Ageing and Inclusive Systems Webinar Series. As a part of the IGS 2020/2021 scientific programme, this series will draw on ICSG and CESRD research conducted with diverse and vulnerable older people during and around the COVID-19 pandemic, and will critically assess current gaps, and future opportunities. The series incorporates the voices and views of such groups as precarious older workers, informal carers, people living with dementia, older members of the Traveller and homeless communities, and older adults who have experienced isolation and age discrimination. It will also present the perspectives of key stakeholders and international research experts in response to this research, as well as showcasing the work of early career researchers on social and economic aspects of ageing.

The Marginalised Ageing and Inclusive Systems Webinar Series includes the following events:

Meeting 1:
Targeting disadvantage and inequality in ageing societies. 
Thurs, Jan. 14th, 3.00-4.30 pm 
Recording of the webinar is available here

Meeting 2:
Promoting Marginal Older Adult Voices and Identities: Launch of the findings of the Older Traveller and Older Adult Homeless (OTOH) Study.  
Thurs, Feb. 18th,  3.00-4.30 pm
Registration and further details are available here

Meeting 3:
Continuum of Care and People with Dementia.
Thurs, Mar. 11th, 3.00-4.30 pm
Recording of the webinar is available here

Meeting 4.
Family Carers, Public Policy and Dementia. 
Thurs, Apr. 22nd, 3.00-4.30 pm
Registration and further details are available here