A new engagement strategy for older people will support work with regularly funded organisations in Northern Ireland. The Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI) is developing the plan in light of government priorities. The announcement of the strategy follows the appointment of an Advocate for Older People by the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister. ACNI hopes to have an action plan in place by the end of this financial year, enabling work to begin in 2009/10. Working with Help the Aged, Age Concern and Age Sector Platform among others, ACNI is considering a range of interventions, including developing a skills bank, carrying out detailed research on barriers to engagement and working with arts organisations to provide increased opportunities. A spokesperson for ACNI told AP that “preliminary discussions suggest there is a compelling case to progress this project on a joint platform, as many engagement issues are shared by other service providers such as libraries, museums and life-long learning providers”.
