The national u3a movement, a UK-wide network of over 1,000 charities, is set to celebrate u3a Week 2025 from 20th–28th September with a dynamic programme of online events focused on positive ageing. This annual event highlights how older adults can thrive, learn, and share experiences, challenging stereotypes about ageing and showcasing the power of lifelong learning and community engagement.

For over 40 years, u3a has united semi-retired and retired individuals to share knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm, fostering personal growth and enriching communities. With nearly 500,000 members across the UK, the movement promotes a vibrant approach to later life, encouraging social connection and intellectual curiosity. u3a Week 2025 will amplify this mission through a series of free online events, exclusively open to u3a members and their friends, designed to inspire and inform.

The week-long programme, hosted via Zoom, features a diverse range of sessions addressing key aspects of positive ageing. These events aim to combat ageism, promote health, and celebrate the contributions of older adults. Highlights of the u3a Week 2025 online events include:

• Age Without Limits: Celebrate Ageing. The Centre for Ageing Better will explore its Age Without Limits campaign, which tackles ageism and drives cultural change by promoting positive perceptions of ageing. This session will highlight practical steps to challenge stereotypes and foster inclusivity.
• Eating Well for Health and Vitality in Later Life. This session focuses on nutrition’s role in maintaining strength, energy, and wellbeing in later years. Experts will discuss signs of malnutrition and offer practical advice to support healthy ageing.
• What Do Official Statistics Reveal About Positive Ageing? The Office for National Statistics (ONS) will present data-driven insights into the UK’s ageing population, exploring trends in health, wellbeing, and societal contributions on 23 September at 2pm.
• My Gardening Life: Decades on the Plot, Page, Screen and Airwaves. Garden writer and broadcaster Barbara Segall will share her lifelong passion for gardening, reflecting on how nurturing plants and sharing knowledge has enriched her life and others’.
• Why the Still Got It! Photo Project? Photographer Mike Longhurst will discuss his Still Got It project, which uses portrait photography to challenge ageist depictions of older adults, offering tips on capturing the vibrancy of later life.

u3a Week 2025 underscores the movement’s commitment to demonstrating that later life is a time for growth, creativity, and connection. The events align with broader efforts to address inequalities in ageing, as highlighted in the Centre for Ageing Better’s State of Ageing 2025 report, which notes that life expectancy and health outcomes vary significantly across England. For instance, pensioner poverty rates are highest in Yorkshire and the Humber at 20%, compared to 15% in the East Midlands and South West.

The programme also reflects u3a’s role in fostering community and combating social isolation. Members like those in Bournemouth u3a, with nearly 900 participants in 100 interest groups, describe the movement as an “inspiring community” that encourages healthy ageing through shared experiences. From Dundee to Exeter, past u3a Weeks have seen members host afternoon teas, plant trees, and engage with local communities, reinforcing the movement’s impact.

By offering these online events, u3a aims to spread the word about the benefits of lifelong learning and social engagement. The movement invites members and their friends to join the sessions, sign up for the u3a Friends newsletter, or connect via its Facebook community for updates. As u3a continues to grow, with over 50,000 newsletter subscribers and 600 u3as using its Beacon membership system, u3a Week 2025 promises to be a vibrant celebration of positive ageing.