Professor Vic Rayner, OBE, CEO of the National Care Forum, and the new board chair of the Global Ageing Network shares a message to membership:

Happy New Year to the Global Ageing Network! I am delighted to have taken over the role of Chair of the Global Ageing Network this month and am looking forward to working with all the members and partners over the next two years.

I want to extend thanks on your behalf to the outgoing chair, the amazing Jiri Horecky. It has been such a privilege to have him as the chair, and I am hoping to be able to take forward the excellent work that he has done in leading the board.

A little bit about me. I am the CEO of an organisation called the National Care Forum, which represents not-for-profit care providers in England. I have worked in the areas of housing, care and support for more than 25 years and am hugely passionate about the change that care and support can make to people’s lives.

Last year, my organisation was one of the co-hosts of the Global Ageing Network conference in Scotland, and I was so delighted to have met a large number of members and partners at that influential event. What was clear then was that our ability to work collectively is our strength.

We know that in 2024 over half the world’s population will be voting in elections and that these elections will have a fundamental impact on the lives of older people for many generations to come. The world’s population is changing at a rapid pace, and the combination of changing demography leading to huge growth in ageing communities, alongside mass migration with its resultant impact on the care and health workforce, means the way that care and support for older people is delivered needs to change at pace.

Working together, we can give voice to this agenda and strengthen the rights of older people. The Global Ageing Network and its members have a really important part to play in shaping a truly global understanding of what is happening at the grassroots level, showcasing what good looks like—and supporting members to work collectively to influence governments and institutions.

I look forward to working with you over the coming years and hope to meet many of you either in person or online in the very near future.