Factors such as retirement, rural isolation and reduced life chances on a wide range of grounds serve to marginalise large numbers of older people and to exclude them from the benefits of society. While life expectancy here is almost as comparable with the rest of the UK, N. Ireland has the lowest proportion of life spent free from disability, at 59.7 years for men. It is in this context that adult learning for older people through creativity has a key role to play.

We believe that participation by older people in the programme will raise self-esteem, reduce isolation, train them in skills that will involve them more in their own local community and mobilise them as visionaries of social change. This work will enlighten care managers about the potential of the arts, will result in the launch of a set of policy recommendations outlining how society should better serve the older generation, and engage the wider community in discussion about ageing.