'A bold attempt to challenge ageism'

[1 November 2006 - The Guardian - UK] The older population in Scotland is growing and likely to continue to do so. We meet the minister whose mission is to ensure its senior citizens get a clear voice. ... Malcolm Chisholm is unrepentantly a baby boomer: a "classic" one, he says, born in the first boom after the second world war rather than a Johnny-come-lately 1960s version. Now aged 57, Scotland's minister for communities knows just how demanding his contemporaries are likely to be as they head into old age. And quite right too, he believes, which is why he is passionate about creating a Scotland that values - and caters for - its older people. In the next few months, the Scottish executive will publish a strategy for Scotland with an ageing population. It is now being written, following a consultation earlier this year, and Chisholm is determined it will make a difference. "It's partly about changing cultures, recognising that older people are making a contribution and making sure they have the opportunity to do so," he says. "This is a bold attempt to challenge ageism and combat ageist attitudes in society as a whole." More