Feeling full of life

City of York Council and key partners in the city have launched a ground-breaking photography competition to get people thinking about ageing in a more positive way.

Age Concern, York Cares, York CVS, York Older People's Assembly, York Racial Equality Network, and other key charity and voluntary groups are supporting the competition, along with the University of York, York Press and the council, to help change attitudes towards ageing and promote a positive attitude towards older people.

The competition - 'Full of Life' - is asking residents of any age to send in photos of people aged 50 and over doing something they love in York - whether working, playing, volunteering, or socialising with friends and family. The aim of the competition is to generate a bank of photographs that can be used to show older people in a more positive light as well as highlighting the wide range of opportunities there are in the city for older people.
Along with the rest of the UK, York's population is ageing. By 2029, the number of people aged 55 and over in York will have increased by 33 per cent, and people over 85 by an incredible 83 per cent. 

Pete Dwyer, Director of Adults, Children and Education at the council said: "We want to challenge negative stereotypes of ageing and older people. We've been really heartened by the response to the competition and hope that we will get some really strong, positive images that will help us change people's perceptions of older people."

The best images will be used in publications and publicity material produced by the council and its competition partners to present a new and inspiring view of ageing and the huge contribution that older people make to the life of the city.
Submissions will be judged within five categories:

• Taken by photographers of Primary School age
• Taken by photographers of Secondary School/Further education age
• Taken by photographers aged19 years +
• Taken by photographers aged 50 years +
• Taken by professional photographers

Winners will be invited to a special reception and exhibition launch in June this year and get the chance to spend a day with the photographers at The Press, or be given an exclusive tour of the facilities at the University of York's state of the art Theatre, Film & TV department.
Submissions must be received by 12 noon on Monday 23 May. Photos can be emailed to fulloflifeyork@gmail.com or sent to Full of Life - Photography Competition, c/o York Cares, Careers Service, The University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD.
More information about the competition and how to enter can be found on:
https://sites.google.com/site/fulloflifeyork/