Creative Exchanges on Stage in Cologne

Age & Opportunity’s pioneering work in transforming the experience of residents and staff in long term care will be recognised at an International Symposium organised by the German Institute for Education and Culture. Elly McCrea, who developed the ‘Creative Exchanges’ programme joins an impressive line-up of speakers to discuss the role of art and culture in elder care and social work in Cologne on April 27th.

‘Elly McCrea, who together with artist Gerda Teljeur, designed the programme, truly deserves this recognition,’ said Age & Opportunity CEO Catherine Rose. ‘104 staff in 36 care centres have been trained and it has proven to be a valuable factor in ensuring a better quality of life for older people living in care centres. If Creative Exchanges were more widely available, the quality of life for older people in care would be greatly improved.’

Elly McCrea and Gerda Teljeur passionately believe in the power of their work, which involves drama, visual arts and dance, to change lives: “We’ve seen the benefits of it, for the care-workers as well as for their clients. Communication between staff and residents engaged in a creative process is different. It shifts from caring to sharing, and maybe sharing eventually leads to a need for less caring. There is communication at a different level. It is two way."

With over thirty years experience in Drama and Education, Elly McCrea will talk about her experience of delivering arts training to nurses and care assistants in Ireland. Creative Exchanges is a unique arts training programme, designed to make creativity intrinsic to life for older people in care settings by enabling staff to facilitate the arts amongst the older people in their care. The ultimate aim is to improve the quality of life for older people receiving care.

The keynote lecture at the symposium will be given by Dr. Gay Hanna, Executive Director of the National Center for Creative Aging (NCCA), Washington DC. The centre conducts training programmes on arts and ageing in the emerging field of “creative ageing” and has conducted landmark research study on the benefits of artistic engagement for older adults.

Age & Opportunity is the national not-for-profit organisation working to promote greater participation by older people in society through partnerships and collaborative programmes. We work in a range of areas from the arts and physical activity, to promoting age equality and building self-confidence aiming to create an  Ireland where all older people have the opportunity to realise their full potential and participate in an inclusive society.

For further information about Creative Exchanges or any aspect of Age & Opportunity’s work, contact Sue Russell 01 805 7709.

Note to Editors:

Creative Exchanges has been running since 2000 in partnership with the HSE and is a FETAC accredited course. An independent evaluation by OCS Consultants found the course had a positive effect on residents as well as staff and resulted in closer links between care centres and their local communities. In 2007 Age & Opportunity published Creative Exchanges (by Padraig O’Morain and Ann Leahy), which tells the story of seven years work on the programme and which can be downloaded from this site.