On Tuesday, July 5th, I was invited to give a presentation concerning reducing social isolation in old age through community engagement at an all day seminar organised by the Local Government Information Unit and GlobalNET21. The seminar brought together a range of practitioners and local authority representatives working towards lessening social isolation, which is increasingly experienced by many elderly people.
I championed storytelling and the arts as a tool for social engagement, promoting health and well-being and nurturing healthier communities. I presented a case study of a recent intergenerational creative arts life story project I developed for East Sussex County Council Adult Social Care, and the Black and Minority Ethnic Social Care Forum East Sussex, in partnership with Hastings Museum and Art Gallery and the Towner Art Gallery in Eastbourne. I described the value, benefits and transformative power I have witnessed through this particular project as well as many other storytelling and arts based community and cultural development projects I have been involved with. The seminar was extremely informative and it was heartening to learn that numerous organisations are committed to implementing innovative and cost effective programmes to address this important social issue.
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