Help the Aged is to launch a campaign calling for the creation of
an age discrimination commission.
This latest PR and public affairs offensive will launch in February and
has been announced as part of a charity-wide rebrand, unveiled this
week.
Currently there is no legislation to outlaw discrimination based on
age.
However, new laws relating to discrimination in the workplace are
expected to be in place by April 2006.
The charity will campaign to bring this new law forward on top of
setting up the elderly's first equality commission.
Help the Aged's communications team - led by director of marketing Steve
Jones - and its public affairs team - headed by policy unit head Paul
Cann - are compiling evidence of discrimination to be publicised as part
of the campaign.
There is also hope that a private member's bill outlawing ageism and
tabled by Labour MP Candy Atherton will be successful.
The charity's rebrand has lead to it discarding its previous mission
statement, which pledged general support for the elderly, and replaced
it with a more focused set of aims, which will be the basis of all
future campaigns.
The aims are to defeat ageism, combat poverty among the elderly, reduce
isolationism and challenge cases of neglect while promoting high
standards of care.
Jones said this does not mean less attention will be given to the
charity's funding and service provision work.
He said: 'This is a refocus that by concentrating on these aims we can
be more effective in our campaigning. We found that our previous mission
statement was too broad. With this there should be no doubt as to what
we aim to achieve.'
He added that as part of the rebrand the charity is looking to work more
closely with Age Concern on campaigning.
Editorial agency Proseworks has been taken on to produce the charity's
revamped in house publication, In-Touch.
The charity's new logo was designed by agency Appetite.
