◄Previous: Contents

# Introduction

Ageism can change how we view others and ourselves, perpetuate intolerance between generations, devaluing what younger and older people can contribute. It can also negatively impact our health, longevity and well-being while also having far-reaching economic consequences.

In this course you’ll be learning what ageism is and why it matters, as well as what the law says on ageism and what you can do to identify and challenge ageism you may encounter across different parts of society.

While ageism affects everyone, this course will focus on ageism experienced by older people. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported that half the world’s population is ageist against older people (2021).

This course was co-developed with the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales; you’ll find useful links to the Commissioner’s resources throughout the course. In the video below, Rhian Bowen-Davies, the current Older People's Commissioner for Wales, outlines what you can expect from this course.

Video 1 Welcome to the course

Enrolling on the course and successfully completing it means you will earn an Open University digital badge. Badges are not accredited by The Open University but they're a great way to demonstrate your interest in the subject and/or commitment to continuing professional development. In addition, you can also download your own OpenLearn statement of participation when you complete the course.

◄Contents►Next: Learning outcomes

OpenLearn - Ageism and age discrmination
Except for third party materials and otherwise, this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence, full copyright detail can be found in the acknowledgements section. Please see full copyright statement for details.