Seniors Summit II
November 6 & 7, 2004
Seniors Summit II, held at the Metrotown Hilton in Burnaby, provided a forum for seniors from diverse social, economic and cultural communities in BC to discuss matters of interest to the community as a whole, to generate interest around the issues of an aging population, to address the inadequacies in our social system, to have fun and to renew seniors’ focus and energy for continued action.
Discussions at the Summit covered a broad range of topics important to seniors and their families. Participants in 31 workshops offered during the conference formulated recommendations for group and individual action, advocacy, and education around a number of issues.
Many of the out-of-town delegates to the Summit arrived early in order to participate in rural dialogue sessions held the day before the conference. Specific issues affecting seniors living in rural areas were discussed, as well as general issues in healthcare, housing and transportation.
Key Objectives
- To revisit and build on the accomplishments of the 1999 Seniors Summit
- To ensure that seniors from diverse cultural, social, and economic communities are active participants in all phases of the Summit
- To examine the inadequacies of our social systems in their failure to address the needs of many seniors around issues of poverty, unsatisfactory housing, uncertain health care, and isolation
- To generate interest in the issues of an aging population among government and non-government organizations that work with and serve seniors
Outcomes
- A number of seniors and seniors’ organizations with renewed energy for continuing action
- A program of follow up activities identified; working groups formed
- A set of recommendations proposing and supporting follow-up activities, for distribution to the wider community
- Increased visibility of seniors in the wider community as a positive force contributing to a strong society
- Increased identification and encouragement of volunteers and volunteer opportunities
Sponsors
Seniors Summit II was made possible by generous support from the following Sponsors:
BC Housing / Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women’s Services
The Lohn Foundation
MetroValley Newspaper Group
Mulberry Place Retirement Residence
NOW TV
Vancouver Coastal Health
Investors Group Financial Services Inc.
600AM / 93.7 JRfm
The Care Guide Inc.
Edgewater Casino
Pharmasave
RBC Financial Group
Sunrise Senior Living
BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation
Planet Bingo
ICBC
Island Hearing Services
The PCI Group
VanCity Credit Union
Age Matters Communications Inc.
BC Government Employees Union
BC Nurses Union
CPAC (Care) Holdings Ltd.
John Kennedy
Retirement Concepts
We Care Home Health Services
Budget Printing
THANK YOU!
Seniors Summit II Follow Up
In early spring of 2006, 20 individuals from across the province of BC, gathered in Vancouver for a day of focus groups. Their task was threefold: 1) to identify key seniors’ issues in their communities and regions, 2) to make recommendations for resolving these issues, and 3) to determine to whom these recommendations should be directed. The focus groups were the culmination of the Seniors Summit II Follow Up project, administered by the 411 Seniors Centre and funded by the New Horizons for Seniors Program.
In the end, the participants decided to organize their presentation as follows:
1) All of the issues identified by all of the participants would be compiled in a summary document that would be sent to all of the stakeholders;
2) Recommendations would be organized by key stakeholder portfolios and each stakeholder would receive a primary document containing only those recommendations that fell under their areas of responsibility; and
3) A letter would be sent to each stakeholder encouraging them to carefully read both documents and to bring all of the content to bear in their efforts to address issues specific to their department.
