3.4 Knowledge Exchange

People who work in the intersection of older people’s wellbeing, culture and technology are relatively few and far between, so it was important for CTC to establish a national community of Knowledge Exchange. Right at the start of the project our online symposium ‘Older People and Cultural Participation – Where Next?’ witnessed a dozen presentations from practitioners from across the country talking about their own projects and inclusive digital and arts practice with older people. We worked together to think about what CTC really needed to explore. During the project we have continued to hold Knowledge Exchange events and also write blogs to be shared within the Creative Ageing community, such as this one for CADA. Two and a half years later, in October 2023, we held our project showcase event. Here you can see a live illustration by Camille Aubry which encapsulates the day at the Watershed arts venue on Bristol’s waterfront. We celebrated and shared all aspects of CTC with an audience of over 150 people who could also have a go with the six prototypes, watch films and read poetry. It was so exciting to be able to present what we had achieved and learned, but just as importantly to open new conversations.  Underneath the illustration is a page from our fold-out leaflet ‘Doing Co-Design Differently’ which was distributed at the Showcase and subsequent events.

To read our blog post about older people and co-production, please click here.

To read a copy of Tot Foster’s contribution to the CADA website, please click here