It is with great pleasure we announce the appointment to our Board of Directors, Nadra Ahmed CBE DL, Co-Chair of the National Care Association (NCA), UK. Nadra has been involved in the field of Social Care for over 40 years. Her background is in training and education, which has been the passion that drives

This week, 3-18 June, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Commonwealth Study Conference (CSC) brings together 300 of the world’s most promising emerging leaders from business, government, labour, and the community sector together in Canada. The first Commonwealth Study Conference was held in the United Kingdom in 1956. It was, in the words of its founder,

On Saturday 20 May 2023, The Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, and Health Ministers from across the Commonwealth met in Geneva, to forge a path forward on accelerating efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC), during the 35th Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting (CHMM). During the meeting, Ministers discussed the role

Prior to our existence, several international organisations that promote service development and best practice in care and support for older people already existed, but they are generally based in countries with more developed economies and social conditions. There was no organisation which had an established presence or had been able to build

At the end of 2022, we said a fond farewell to our founding director and CEO Klaus Zimmermann, and Board director, Samantha Bowen. With well over 30 years of experience in the aged care sector, Klaus has been on the CommonAge journey since the was first discussed in 2013. He began working

In March 2013, our Founder and Chair, Andrew Larpent commenced a week of immersion in the challenges and opportunities facing communities from Commonwealth countries living in the UK, following his offer of a place on the Commonwealth Study Conferences Leaders (CSC Leaders) programme. This was a programme for Commonwealth leaders that ran between 2013

Applications for this bursary is now closed, and we will be announcing successful recipients shortly We are inviting applications for travel bursaries for delegates from lower and middle income nations of the Commonwealth to attend the 2023 Global Ageing Network’s (GAN) biennial conference, Glasgow, Scotland 7 – 8 September 2023 with a pre-conference CommonAge meeting

This thought leadership article by CommonAge Board Director Dan Levitt was first published in The Vancouver Sun Op Ed January 25 2023 Opinion: We need more housing options for seniors in established neighbourhoods that are too often out of reach for older persons — forcing them to live far afield from where they grew up,

Kenya is to get its first private care home thanks to our Ambassador in Kenya, James Mbatia Kinuthia. James, the Founder of SJ Remedial Care Homes has been a pioneer and healthy ageing advocate for over 20 years in Africa’s Social Care Sector, so we were delighted to offer him a our QCS

Following two years when much activity was curtailed due to the pandemic, 2022 was a year of significant progress for us. New team members We welcomed Reneta D’Souza, based in India to the team in the position of part-time Executive Assistant. Her administrative support is greatly welcomed, and we acknowledge with thanks

Following the completion of her PhD at McMaster University, Ontario, Canada, we are thrilled to learn our Ambassador Blessing Ugochi Echeme-Ojembe, is now Dr. Blessing Ugochi Echeme-Ojembe. As one of our QCS bursary recipients to our inaugural Commonwealth Elders Forum in 2018, Blessing’s interest focuses on addressing the taken-for-granted assumptions and marginalisation that older adults across

We were delighted to be a part of the launch of an exciting new initiative in South Africa to help combat elder abuse and enable elders to enjoy a sense of safety and dignity. On 23 November, The Association for the Aged (Tafta) launched a Toll-free National Elder Abuse Helpline. As well

Our Ambassadors are an integral part in the CommonAge network, and their support is vital to our campaigning. As a recipient of our scholarship fund to enable our professional colleagues from developing countries of the Commonwealth to join us in Perth at the IAHSA/ACSA conference, 30 August – 3 September, 2015, Anderson Simfukwe is our Ambassador

Together with our partner Standard Wise International (SWI), we were delighted to recently host a dinner for Australian and UK aged care sector leaders. The Australian leaders were visiting the UK as part of a SAGE (Studying and Advancing Global Eldercare) tour. The SAGE Study Tour programs offer delegates an educative, professional and culturally

With researches predicting global dementia cases will trip to 150million by 2050, and the World Alzheimer Report revealing up to 85% of people living with dementia may not receive post-diagnosis care raising awareness of these conditions today, through World Alzheimer’s Day, 21 September, and World Alzheimer’s month is more important than ever before. Through this year’s

Population ageing affects all Commonwealth states. Even in countries with predominantly young populations, people are living longer and are developing more complex health and social needs as they age.

However, as long as they remain healthy and well, they also have the capacity to contribute wisdom, skills and experience to their communities.

Over 70 years ago, a 25-year-old woman in grief promised to serve her country and the Commonwealth. She emerged as a remarkable female leader with a global legacy, who kept her word to serve; with grace and consistency throughout her reign, she encouraged our Commonwealth, celebrating goodness and giving support and reassurance

The Commonwealth Games are an exciting event on the Commonwealth’s calendar, uniting the Commonwealth countries in a celebration of sport and human performance. Held every four years, (except for during World War II), the Games have grown from featuring 11 countries and 400 athletes, to a global spectacle of 4,600 sports men

The perspective and contribution of older people must be included at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), 20-25 June, 2022 As Heads of Government of Commonwealth nations gather in Kigali, Rwanda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), and as they pay their respects to Her Majesty the Queen for her long

The Commonwealth is home to 2.5 billion people, and includes both advanced economies and developing countries. 32 of the members are small states, including many island nations. According to the data platform Knoema, approximately over 2.38 million people aged 60+ were in the Commonwealth in 2020. But we need to bear in

We were recently invited to the Jamaican High Commission in London, where our Chair, Andrew Larpent was honoured to meet with Senator, the Honourable Kamina Johnson Smith, Foreign Minister of Jamaica. They chatted at length, and she expressed great interest in our work to ensure older people are fully recognised in society,

The #CelebrateAgedCare campaign needs you! Across the globe, people working to support older adults are sharing their passion helping make a difference to other people’s lives through this exciting initiative, and we’re asking the aged care workforce across the Commonwealth to get involved. Celebrating one person each day, the #CelebrateAgedCare campaign profiles a person working in

Consisting of leaders from across the Commonwealth, our volunteer Board members bring with them an amazing and invaluable wealth of knowledge and experience. Here our Board member Femada Shamam, CEO of The Association For The Ageing (Tafta), Durban, South Africa, reflects on the five years at the helm. “Five years ago, I remember driving to work

CommonAge is delighted the CEO of the Malawi Network of Older Persons’ Organizations (MANEPO), Andrew Kavala has accepted the invitation to join the CommonAge Board. Established in 2010, MANEPO is a consortium of over 60 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs); its aim is to help older men and women claim their rights, challenge discrimination, and

International Women’s day (IWD), 8 March, is the global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. IWD has been celebrated for well over a century, with the first IWD gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people. To celebrate the contributions of women to society, meet some