News

Open call out for entries to Happy Place calendar competition

6 September 2023

Local people over the age of 50 are being invited to take part in a special project aimed at promoting health and wellbeing in the older community.

The Western Health & Social Service Trust is working in partnership with Derry City and Strabane District Council, Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, the Public Health Agency and South West Age Partnership, to produce an ‘Age Friendly Calendar 2024’ for across the Western Trust area. 

Entitled ‘Your Happy Place’, the calendar is an Age Friendly Initiative which aims to address emotional health in later years and encourages older people to take five simple steps - to connect, be active, take notice, keep learning and to give - to improve their wellbeing.

In advance of Positive Ageing Month, Derry City and Strabane District Council are encouraging people from the council area aged 50+ to get involved in the calendar by participating in a competition by submitting a photograph or art piece of their Happy Place. The image should capture what or where makes them feel happy and images can take the form of a photograph or a painting (without people). 

Last year’s winner for this Council area was Declan Devine with his painting of his family’s old homestead at Doorat, Dunnamanagh, around the mid 1960’s, which represented Declan’s “happy memories of a happy childhood”.

Encouraging people to take part in the competition, Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Patricia Logue, said it was a great way of engaging with the public and showcasing powerful local images and messages.

“This positive initiative aims to enhance and champion the emotional and mental wellbeing of residents aged 50 and above in our Council area,” she explained. “It provides them with an opportunity to highlight the positive aspects of their lives and share them with a broader audience. The previous year's calendar achieved great success, with active participation and widespread enjoyment across the region.

“It's truly heartening to witness the Council collaborating with other organisations on this vital endeavour, and I eagerly await the release of the 2024 calendar reflecting different peoples Happy Place’s. I hope the competition will once again thrive, attracting an array of entries from across our Council area.”

Anyone interested in taking part in the competition, can submit their entry by email to  [email protected] or alternatively post to Age Friendly Co-ordinator, Derry City and Strabane District Council, 98 Strand Road, Derry. BT48 7NN before 5pm on Monday 16^th October.  Please note that posted entries cannot be returned.