CREATING A NEW OLD is one of the Irish flagship events celebrating EY2012: the EU Year of Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations.

The conference will bring together specialists in health, culture, arts, science, education, gerontology, social policy and tourism and will showcase international best practice, innovation and opportunities relating to ageing from the arts and culture sectors.

Central to this conference are their findings on the positive contribution of the creative arts in maintaining health and well being in later life.

Individual conference speakers will discuss their own first-hand experience of programmes they have developed and managed, and of their research findings about how to do things best in a range of situations and with a range of older populations.  Other speakers will deal with the all important subject of how to introduce these findings into mainstream experience in health and education programmes and into communities and Civic life at national level.

The programme of speakers illustrates the rich variety of material which will be presented and discussed. You can find them here http://bealtaine..com/node/288<;;http://bealtaine.com/node/288>

This conference is designed to engage its audience of policy makers and programme managers in the field of elder health care provision, arts and culture,  inclusion and equity. One might register here http://bealtaine.com/conference

This event is part of the Bealtaine Festival, which invites every year local authorities, arts centres, libraries, Active Retirement groups, care settings, community groups and clubs, associations from every part of the country to run events that celebrate creativity in older age.

The national programme for Bealtaine is available at: http://bealtaine.com/programme

Bealtaine is an Age & Opportunity initiative part-funded by the Arts Council and delivered by hundreds of organisations around the country.