Third agers to take over the House of Lords

Members of the University of the Third Age are to take part in a debate in the chamber of the House of Lords on November 30, together with an equal number of young people.  The debate was announced by U3A chairman Ian Searle in his address to the Annual General Meeting today (SEPTEMBER 12). The debate will be chaired by the Speaker of the House of Lords, Baroness D’Souza.

Mr Searle, who was making his farewell speech as he is stepping down after three years as U3A chairman, explained:

“Once a year the House of Lords makes the Chamber available to non-members for debate. This year they have chosen to invite the U3A, together with a number of young people, to debate an issue of interest to both young and old. There will be room for between 150 and 200 U3A members only, so the allocation of places must be restricted, but fair.” 

Mr Searle also announced details of the online courses to be launched by the U3A in January. These will be tutored courses, and the first three will be on the Vikings, the decade before Queen Victoria, and the First World War. 

They are designed for members who are housebound or in residential homes, and cannot easily travel to learning groups; and for those who wish to study at times of their own choosing rather than attend meetings at set times.

And he announced a new venture in collaboration with the Prison Reform Trust, in which the U3A will help the PRT to trial new material written especially for older people.

Ends

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. 1.
2. 2.Mr Searle’s successor as U3A chairman will be elected on the same day, 12 September 2012, and the result will be announced in a press release and on the U3A Twitter account, U3A_UK.
3. 3.The University of the Third Age was founded in 1982 to enable older people to organise their ownIt works on the self-help principle, and is run democratically by its members, with officers and a national executive elected at the annual general meeting. It has grown every year since its foundation thirty years ago, and there are currently 294,881 members in 862 local U3As.    

FURTHER INFORMATION:

Francis Beckett

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it "> This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .