BOWDOINHAM

Bowdoinham has announced it is one of 13 communities in the world that has been asked to advise the World Health Organization on how it can improve its guide for measuring age-friendliness.

In June Bowdoinham became the first community in Maine to be recognized as part of the World Health Organization’s Network of Age Friendly Communities. More recently, the organization asked cities and towns throughout the world to pilot the newly developed guide that municipalities can use to assess how well the community provides for the needs of aging residents and to measure progress toward making the community more aging friendly.

Each city chosen to participate in the pilot will receive a $5,000 grant to field test the measures of age friendliness included in the guide and to provide advice about how the guide could be improved.

Bowdoinham joins Washington D.C., Banyule, Australia; Bilbao, Spain; Dijon, France; Hong Kong, China; La Plata, Argentina; Nairobi, Kenya; New Delhi, India; Shanghai/Jing’an, China; Tehran, Iran; Tuymazy, Russia and Udine, Italy in being chosen to participate in this pilot.

Bowdoinham has been addressing issues and concerns of older adults through its Board of Selectmen appointed Advisory Committee on Aging. Since its creation in November 2012, this committee has developed many programs for older adults.

To evaluate the guide, the Advisory Committee on Aging needs the help of Bowdoinham residents. As part of the project, the town will conduct focus groups to hear opinions about Bowdoinham. They want to hear what residents think is great about living in the town, what needs improvement and of course, in what ways Bowdoinham can improve age friendliness.

Bowdoinham’s website, www.bowdoinham.com, will have information about these meetings. For more information about the pilot or the focus groups, contact Patricia Oh, Coordinator of Older Adult Services for the town at 666-5531 ext. 110 or email p.oh@bowdoinham.com.