Aiming to connect and share care practices across the Commonwealth, leading experts in compliance, quality assurance and care management, Quality Compliance Systems (QCS) and CommonAge, the Association for the Ageing have launched a special bursary to help fund care and retirement professionals from developing Commonwealth nations to come to the UK to study and experience our care sector.
“The opportunity to come to the UK to contribute to and learn from our care sector will have an enormous impact upon the quality and the consistency of care being delivered in these developing nations,” says Mat Whittingham, CEO, QCS.
“Vulnerable people across the Commonwealth will benefit from this fantastic scheme and the UK sector will benefit from the rich diversity and international experience those colleagues from Commonwealth countries will bring. QCS are proud to partner with CommonAge to support this fantastic initiative.”
CommonAge is an accredited Commonwealth organisation, which was founded in Australia in 2013. Its purpose is to ensure elders in all Commonwealth countries are supported to enjoy the highest possible quality of life in their senior years and to continue to contribute wisdom and experience to their communities.
From Australia and Antigua to Vanuatu and Zambia, through its growing networks and programmes, CommonAge is sharing ideas, creating connections, and combating ageism across the 52 countries of the Commonwealth.
Under its scholarship programme, CommonAge assisted professional colleagues from developing Commonwealth countries to attend the IAHSA/ACSA conference in Perth Australia 2015 and more recently, the Global Ageing Network/Curaviva Conference in Montreux, Switzerland. This gave scholarship recipients the chance to hear international speakers, participate in workshops and forums, make presentations and meet colleagues from all over the world.
Andrew Larpent OBE, CommonAge Chairman says we are a young organisation but already we have many exciting programmes with our life story project, ‘Ageing in the Commonwealth’ research project and our planned Elders Forum linked to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit Meeting in April 2018.
“We are delighted Quality Compliance Systems has joined us in the exciting journey,” he says. “The bursary scheme will allow us to offer substantial financial assistance for colleagues from developing Commonwealth countries to attend the first ever Commonwealth Elders’ Forum.”
Working in close collaboration with the National Care Forum, Care England, Age International and the International Longevity Centre (UK), the Commonwealth Elders’ Forum takes place 18 – 18 April 2018.
The QCS/CommonAge bursary announcement was made recently at the CommonAge Launch event sponsored by QCS at Marlborough House, London.
For more information about CommonAge, please visit www.commage.org
For more information about Quality Compliance Systems, please visit www.qcs.co.uk
