Tullamore's Maureen is face of national campaign

A Tullamore human rights activist is one of the faces of a national campaign 'For equality in ageing' #endageism challenging some of the barriers older people encounter in everyday life.

Maureen Ward (60) is one of nine people featured in the campaign by The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission across TV, radio, outdoor, social and digital advertising this month.

Entirely non-scripted, each person shares their personal perspectives on how ageism affects their daily lives, their career, decision-making and their futures.

“If you know that you're accepted, you can come in, be yourself, do a brilliant job and give yourself your 100% or even 110% of your energy to it because you know you're wanted and you're valued regardless of where you came from or what your age is,” Maureen says in the promotional video as part of the national campaign.

Maureen is Interim Co-ordinator of Minceirs Whiden, which in Cant, the Traveller language, means Travellers Talking, a national organisation based in the ACT Centre, Parnell Square, Athlone. She is also a trained and approved foster carer with TUSLA based in the Midlands.

Speaking to the Offaly Independent, Maureen said she is delighted to have been asked to part of this national campaign which is all about looking after the older generation and ensuring they can cope with the changes in society, for example, the move to more online-based services.

It was exciting to hear her picture was on a bus shelter along the Tuam Road in Galway, and she travelled down at the weekend to see it for herself.

“It was a great buzz to see it (the bus stop), and the amount of people who have shared the picture on social media is great,” says Maureen, adding that a lot of people have stopped her to congratulate her and talk about it.

Her Dublin-based sister and her family have been travelling around Dublin in a bid to spot her on the billboard in Ranelagh and at various bus-stops.

“Everyone is so delighted I'm part of the campaign and what it stands for,” she comments, and it means people are thinking about the older generation. “It has sparked a conversation especially within my community and my extended family. It's really good for my community that you're out there, and it's not just about being a Traveller, it's about engaging with society and bringing about change for everybody.”

The main ideas behind the campaign are ageing in the workplace, the lack of job opportunities and training for older people, the move online of services and the digital divide which further isolates groups in society, like older people.

It also aims to challenge the negative stereotypes that persist in terms of the older generation, particularly, negative assumptions between a person's age and their capacity to shape decision-making.

A human rights activist for over 40 years, Maureen is keen to promote the issues for the older generation and hopes younger people think about the issues that more as a result of the campaign.

“Having my voice validated, that people are listening to me makes a big difference,” she ends.