A city councillor is hoping to have proposals to celebrate Dundee’s elderly for an entire year signed off by the council’s top brass at a meeting tonight.
Lynne Short, who represents the Maryfield ward, is hopeful her Dundee City Council colleagues will approve her motion to declare the year between October 1 2020 and September 30 2021 as the the Year of the Older Person.
The plans, which have been backed by the Dundee Pensioners Forum, would see residents in the city celebrate the “contribution older people make to society”.
The dates revolve around the International Day of Older Persons, which takes place on October 1, with Ms Short hoping Dundee can mark the celebration in its own way.
Ms Short said: “This year seems an appropriate time to acknowledge the issues facing older people, given the way they have been particularly impacted by Covid-19
“Declaring a Year of Older Persons would provide an opportunity for us raise awareness of the needs of older people.
“This would ensure we contribute to the UN’s goal that ‘every human being regardless of age will have an opportunity to fulfil their potential in dignity and equality’ and to celebrate the contributions which older people make to Dundee.”
The motion is due to be heard at a full meeting of Dundee City Council tonight. It has been fully endorsed by Dundee Pensioners Forum.
Representative Dorothy McHugh said: “A small group of us have been meeting together over the last couple of months to try to organise something to mark this important day for older people – all the more poignant in this time of Covid-19.
“Thanks to a suggestion from our Older People’s Champion, Councillor Lynne Short, Dundee City Council is to consider marking October 1 2020 to September 30 2021 as Dundee’s Year of the Older Person.”
