This toolkit has been developed to help communities and councils learn more about how to become an age friendly community, town or city.
How we developed the toolkit
The Age friendly Aotearoa New Zealand programme is led by the Office for Seniors and provides guidance and support for communities that are exploring or committed to becoming age friendly.
More about the Age friendly programme
The toolkit is based on the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Age-friendly Cities and Communities framework and draws on information from local experience as well as international examples.
Age-friendly Cities and Communities framework
More about the WHO’s Global Network of Age friendly Communities and Cities
This toolkit is a living document and we will update it as we learn from others who are working to create age friendly communities.
What makes a community age friendly
An age friendly community is one with the desire and commitment to create policies, physical and social environments that support the wellbeing of older people.
In an age friendly community, older people can:
- be active
- feel secure
- enjoy good health and the respect of others
- continue to participate fully in society, regardless of their age
- mix with different generations
- easily access local services and parks, attend cultural events, and take part in further education.
Why make your community age friendly
Like many other nations, New Zealand’s population is ageing. By 2034, more than one in five New Zealanders will be 65 or over – approximately 1.2 million people. Not only is the number of older people growing, people are also living longer.
Older people make a significant contribution to their families and communities and have a wealth of knowledge and skills to share, so an ageing population brings many opportunities.
An age friendly Aotearoa New Zealand will help ensure that older people are engaged, active, contributing and valued members of the communities in which they live, work and socialise.
What makes a successful age friendly programme
The process to become age friendly is flexible but successful age friendly programmes have some key success factors in common.
The keys to successful age friendly programmes
Keep us updated
The Office for Seniors connects with communities across Aotearoa New Zealand that are interested in becoming age friendly. To help communities starting out on this journey, we are developing a kete of resources relevant to our local context.
If you’re carrying out any age friendly activities – big or small – let us know how you’re going so that we can continue to grow this kete. You can get in touch with us at ofs@msd.govt.nz.
Alzheimers New Zealand would also like to know about any dementia friendly work that’s been included in your age friendly projects and you can contact them at dementiafriendlynz@alzheimers.org.nz
Others already engaged in this work have volunteered their contact details, and are available to discuss their experiences of developing age friendly activities in their communities.
Age friendly contacts in Aotearoa