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What have older students ever done for us?

European Federation of Older Students and the Generations at Work Conference

Spry Finance is a proud supporter of the Age Friendly University (AFU) at Dublin City University, an institution of later-life learning where older people of all ages sign up to learn about the things that interest them. Whether that’s creative writing, opera or art appreciation, or sitting in on lectures and classes in subjects as diverse as biotechnology, law and government, or theology, there is genuinely something for everyone.

In the first of our Later Life podcast series, we sat down with Christine O’Kelly, AFU Co-ordinator, to talk about the AFU, its relationship with other universities around Europe, some forthcoming events and how signing up for a course can take you places you really didn’t expect to be going!

SPRY HUB Later Life Podcast - what have older students every dnoe for us?

For instance – an international sporting event. Christine tells us about taking a team of older athletes to Zvolen in Slovakia to participate in – and, in some cases, win – a range of sporting disciplines under the banner of the ‘Older Olympics’.

She also gives us the lowdown on the forthcoming European Federation of Older Students (EFOS) meeting to be held at DCU, promoting university and academic education for older adults, supporting intergenerational learning, and representing older students’ interests in European policy and society.

And if we really had to ask ‘what have older students ever done for us’, we get the answer from the Generations at Work Conference hosted by the AFU and billed as ‘bring(ing) together a diverse range of perspectives on demographic change and longer working lives across Europe’.

What it’s about is a fairer future for the growing older population in terms of earning and learning, it’s about combatting ageism and it’s about valuing the knowledge, experience, skills and contribution that older people can – and do – bring to society.

You can listen to Christine’s Podcast below:

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At Spry Finance, we believe that later life should be a greater life. A Spry Finance Lifetime Mortgage enables you to release a tax-free lump sum from your home so you can create the future you deserve.

We can guide you through the process, telling you exactly how it all works. The first step is to get in touch with us.

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