Whakatāne celebrated International Day of Older Persons on October 1 with a community gathering at Knox Presbyterian Church.

The International Day of Older Persons is now in its 36th year, having been established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1990. The initiative aims to promote longevity and encourage societies to rethink systems to support longer lives.

Its core focus is examining how societies can ensure increasing global life expectancies translate into healthy, dignified, productive and equitable lives, while addressing the gap between overall life expectancy and healthy life expectancy.

The Whakatāne event opened with a karakia from Pouroto Ngaropo, followed by an address by Whakatāne deputy mayor Julie Jukes, who highlighted the significant contribution older people make to today’s society.

“We need to value the contribution older people bring. Every community runs on the knowledge and experiences they bring that keeps a community working and passes it on every day, mostly doing so unnoticed,” she said.

“It’s the stories they tell and the memories they hold that make the district what it is. When shared, they become part of us all, so we are here to celebrate.”

The event was organised by Kylie Carpenter, manager of Virtual Eastern Bay Villages, an organisation focused on providing support and bringing people together.

“Virtual Eastern Bay Villages is a virtual village, rather than a bricks-and-mortar retirement village and was established to help build connections and relationships with seniors/pakeke.

“We encourage our members to actively participate and support one another through regular social gatherings, activities, one-to-one connections and opportunities to share their skills, interests and experiences,” Carpenter said.

The gathering brought close to 100 people together from across Whakatāne and Edgecumbe for a morning of socialising, with music from Stan Holland, morning tea, raffles and spot prizes.

Representatives from Disability Resource Centre, Hearing Support, St John, Neighbourhood Support and BOP Body in Motion were also on hand to provide advice and information about available support services.

For Carpenter and Virtual Eastern Bay Villages, the day was about raising awareness of what the more mature members of society bring to the community.

“We want to celebrate being old as more, not as less. What’s on offer are more stories, more experience, more wisdom and more to give.

“For us, we want to ensure the elderly are more supported in the community by creating opportunities for friendship, support and wellbeing, so we all have a sense of belonging and purpose.

“We support the elderly in many ways, from helping with something as simple as gardening through to home calls so we can check in on how people are doing.

“Social connection and routine are so important these days, so helping to establish friend groups, such as the coffee mornings we hold weekly, all help keep people healthy and active,” Carpenter said.

To mark the International Day of Older Persons and recognise the contribution seniors/pakeke make to the community, Virtual Eastern Bay Villages is offering free membership to seniors/pakeke through to the end of June 2027.

Expressions of interest and requests for more information can be made by contacting Kylie or Peter on 07 3080 246 or [email protected].