Join us for a free online gathering, in partnership with Professor Paul Willis.
The ‘Communities of Practice Forum: Exploring Older Men’s Participation in Arts & Wellbeing’ is an informal space for arts and wellbeing providers to meet and share ideas around developing better support and engagement for older men in arts & wellbeing services.
The December 2026 Forum session will be led by Professor Paul Willis (Professor of Adult Social Care, Cardiff University).
Living alone in later life has been identified as a risk factor for experiencing loneliness. For older men living alone in the community, social isolation can be compounded by challenges in forming and maintaining social connections outside the home, particularly for older straight men who are recently separated or widowed.
Older men are often depicted in research and policy as ‘lone islands’ and difficult to engage in social activities and events. However, men themselves report much interest in the social and emotional wellbeing of friends and others in their communities and motivations to be more socially active and engaged.
This interactive workshop focuses on solutions and barriers to engaging older men living alone in community-based activities and groups. Adopting an intersectional lens the session will explore differences in social engagement for older men on the basis of sexuality, rurality and care and support needs.
The workshop will aim to:
- identify challenges and barriers to engaging older men from different groups;
- explore ideas of being a man and masculinity that compound these challenges;
- present case examples where community-based programmes have successfully engaged different groups of men and some of the factors driving these solutions.
The session will be led by Paul Willis, a professor in social care at Cardiff University and an expert in men, masculinities and older age. In his spare time, he enjoys running, cycling, baking and anything Dr Who-related.
About the ‘Communities of Practice Forum – Exploring Older Men’s Participation in Arts & Wellbeing’:
This forum is an informal space for peer sharing and learning. We meet twice a year and anyone who is interested in developing their practice around supporting and working alongside older men in arts and wellbeing is very welcome to join!
This forum is for arts and wellbeing providers who want to:
- reflect on learnings from Older Men’s projects
- celebrate the successes
- discuss the challenges
- meet other people interested in sharing & developing their work alongside older men
- and discuss ideas for how we can create more opportunities for supporting and engaging older men in arts and wellbeing services going forward.
Join us to share ideas, refine your working practices and meet other progressive people who are striving to innovate and excel in arts and wellbeing services for older people.
Date:
Wednesday 9th December 2026, 10am – 12pm GMT