Liverpool Showcases Home Grown Creative Ageing Projects

COLLECTIVE Encounters, a Liverpool based theatre company widely regarded as being a leader in the field of social change through the arts, is hosting the:- 'The Ageing Better Culture Showcase,' at the Liverpool Royal Court Studio, on 21 March 2019, from 9:30am to 1pm.

Over the last 10 years in Liverpool has been home to a wide range of pioneering projects have enabled older residents to engage in the creative and cultural life of the City. 'The Ageing Better Culture Showcase' celebrates this work, showcasing its potential with examples of different types of practice such as the role of reminiscence work in dementia care; how the arts can be used to nurture creative relationships across generations, and using theatre as a tool to amplify older people's voices.

This is a fantastic free opportunity for older people in the City to come along and see what activities and events they can get involved with.

The showcase will explore and create discourse about how creativity has been used to:-

► Improve the quality of life of people living with dementia and those that care for them.

► Nurture relationships across the generations

► Enable the opinions and concerns of older people to be heard and understood by those that make decisions for them

► Foster greater agency amongst older people

The morning will be bursting with exciting examples of work from:- Open Eye Gallery, FACT, Liverpool Museums, The Royal Court, Collective Encounters and Travelled Companions' project From Acorns to Oaks.

Collective Encounters run participatory arts programmes inspiring personal, social and political change with people who are socially and economically disadvantaged, or experiencing isolation, such as the homeless community, older people with dementia, or looked after children. They came to prominence in 2004, after a research project at Liverpool Hope University turned into an exciting production called the:- 'The Harmony Suite,' which explored regeneration in North Liverpool, and was staged over several streets there.

For tickets go to Eventbrite:- Eventbrite.Co.UK or call the Box Office on:- 0151 345 6266.

NHS trust produces animation marking Swallowing Awareness Day 2019

AN NHS trust has produced a short animation around dysphagia; the medical name for swallowing problems; to mark:- 'Swallowing Awareness Day 2019.'  Swallowing Awareness Day took place on Wednesday, 13 March 2019 and is a national awareness campaign organised by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. North West Boroughs Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has produced the animation with the Trust's speech and language therapists, who are experts in working with people who have swallowing problems. The average person swallows more than 900 times every day. Like breathing, swallowing is essential to everyday life. But for people with dysphagia, it can cause significant problems and affect their quality of life.  You can watch the animation on the Trust's website now. Also if you think you might have problems with swallowing, make an appointment to see your GP for advice. Krystina Crolla-Barker, Dysphagia Lead at North West Boroughs Healthcare, said:- "Dysphagia is found across all our service user groups, and people who have a learning disability, history of stroke, progressive neurological condition, complex mental health problems and head injuries are all at an increased risk of developing swallowing problems. Despite this, there isn't a great awareness of the condition amongst the general public, so we were keen to produce an animation to highlight swallowing problems and the role speech and language therapists can play in supporting people who are living with dysphagia."