Age Concern And Help The Aged Applaud BBC2's 'Design For Life' Winner

Main Category: Seniors / Aging
Article Date: 21 Oct 2009 - 2:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

Leading older person's charity, Age Concern and Help the Aged, is celebrating the success of Ilsa Parry, who won the BBC2 show 'Design for Life' with her design for a mobility aid for older people.

Ilsa created an innovative and stylish standing and walking aid to win a six-month placement with award-winning designer Philippe Starck's agency in Paris. She was inspired to produce a design that would make life easier for older people after witnessing the challenges they faced on a daily basis.

Ilsa said: 'I wanted to create something that would give older people back their independence and self-esteem. I was brought up by both of my grandmothers, so this is an issue close to my heart.'

Commenting on Ilsa's success, Andrew Harrop, Head of Policy at Age Concern and Help the Aged said: 'The challenge older people face in staying as active and independent as possible is an often overlooked issue, which is why it's been great to watch Ilsa address this with such passion and creativity and see it take her so far within the show. Lack of appropriate support can have a devastating impact on an older person's long-term mobility, leaving them at risk of becoming housebound, isolated and depressed. Hopefully Ilsa's ambitious design will go some way to rectifying this.

'It's been inspiring to watch Ilsa champion the issue of mobility for older people, and we wish her success with her future in the design industry every step of the way.'

Notes

1. Age Concern England and Help the Aged have joined together to form a single charity dedicated to improving the lives of older people.

Source
Help The Aged

• Additional
• References
• Citations