Singapore, 21 July 2013 – Some 4,000 seniors were living it up today at the U Live Symposium 2013, making friends, learning new skills and even enjoying a tasty cooking demonstration. Held for the fourth year, the Symposium is one of the largest one-stop events organised for active agers, and one that is filled with talks and workshops touching on topics relevant and close to the hearts of the target audience. NTUC Deputy Secretary-General (DSG) Heng Chee How mingled with the active agers at the health assessment booths and workshops.
U Live Symposium 2013
The U Live Symposium is an annual event organised by U Live, the Labour Movement’s community of active agers aged 55 years and above. More than 40 sessions of health-related talks and skills-upgrading seminars were conducted throughout the day, which aimed to empower participants particularly the active agers, so that they can lead a healthy, active and more enriching lifestyle.
Since its inception, response for the Symposium has been favourable and it was no exception this year. Most of the sessions were fully subscribed just weeks after registration opened. In fact, all vacancies for the I.T.-related sessions were snapped up within one week of registration which reflected the strong desire of seniors today to stay updated and connected through technology.
“The community of active agers is a vibrant and dynamic one and you can see that the participants are eagerly soaking up new knowledge at each session, be it a cooking demonstration or learning how to set up their Facebook page. This all-encompassing nature of the Symposium is an extension of the direction that U Live is taking because we know that a holistic approach to wellness is key to a happy, healthy, productive and purposeful active ager. U Live will hence be looking at coming up with programmes and initiatives for our senior members, in improving their health and wellbeing, or preparing them for re-employment or purposeful retirement,” said Mr Yeo Khee Leng, NTUC Club, Chief Executive Officer.
This year, U Live also mobilised more of its Ambassadors to help facilitate the many workshops held throughout the day, with the idea of seniors helping seniors. One such Ambassador is 56-year-old Wendy Wang who helped out at the talk on ‘Lasting Power of Attorney’. “I think that at our age now, it’s good that we are better informed on important matters like lasting power of attorney. I will try my best to answer questions. I feel happy to be helping others like myself and empowering them with new knowledge. Even though we are seniors, we still have a lot more to learn,” she said.
DSG Heng also shared today that NTUC and U Live community will be partnering the Health Promotion Board (HPB) to help companies and employers implement workplace health programmes for senior workers. The U Live community and HPB will leverage on each other’s programmes and resources to reach out to more members and senior workers, to ensure that they are healthy physically and mentally, and be able to lead enriching lives.
DSG Heng said, “Both scientists and HR experts have found that work and health are interlinked. It is important that workers stay healthy in order to work and to perform well. Research and experience also found that safe, fair and positive work helps maintain sound mental, emotional and physical wellbeing of workers. Hence, workplace health is a joint investment by companies and workers that will contribute towards sustained employment, employability and competitiveness. In a tight labour market and with an aging workforce, this investment is a smart move.”
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