Trustees Week 2024: Being a Chair of a new u3a

Newham u3a had its first meeting in October. Chair, Peter, talks about his journey with the u3a movement and what it’s like being on the committee of a u3a as it is forming.

Peter (left) with fellow committee member Martin  and Secretary Rosemary at an Ageing Well event in October where they promoted Newham u3a. 

 I lived in Australia between 2017 and 2022 and was on the committee for two u3as. I relocated back to the UK in April 2022, after two years of lockdown. When I moved to the UK, I joined Tower Hamlets u3a.

I knew people who lived in Newham who had to travel because there was no u3a in their area. At the end of last year, I thought, 'okay, I've had enough of hearing that.' And so here we are, setting up a new u3a. 

In addition to being a member of u3a, I am also the Co-Chair of the Resident Advising group of Ageing Well in Newham. The other Co-Chair is the Commissioner for Ageing Well. I put it to him that I wanted to set up a u3a in Newham. He put a message out on WhatsApp, saying this is what our Co-Chair is doing and if anyone wants to volunteer, please come forward. And just like that, I had a committee!

We still need some more people to get involved with the running of our u3a but we have the core positions filled. Our website officer is a person who used to teach computing, we have a Treasurer who knows her stuff, and we have someone who is an ex civil servant who loves doing policies and constitutions. They’ve been amazing.

Newham u3a started virtually. We got the first steering group together in the middle of May, and we contacted John Bent who was standing in as Trustee for London at the time. Ageing Well Newham gave us £500 to help us start and we used a start up grant from the Third Age Trust.There are a lot of steps to get through to get ourselves established including forming a bank account, setting up a website and getting all the documentation correct.

We finally did a soft launch with a stall for Newham u3a at the Ageing Well Festival on 5 October. Our new Trustee for London, Jenny Wilson, came along to give us support. We then officially launched on 16 October. As well as being Chair, I'm also a Yoga teacher, so the yoga group is up and running. The walking group is starting in two weeks time while the art group, theatre group, gardening group are all already going. We’ve got lots of speakers ready to do talks, which will probably start next year. 

The most challenging thing is finding places to meet, especially venues that don’t cost us anything. I’m busy trying to forge partnerships. This afternoon, I’m starting the yoga group in an old church. I went and tried to sell ourselves and what we do. It’s a little bit of give and take.

 In terms of how committees work, that's something I knew from being an active member of u3a in Australia for three years. In my committee role, I use all the skills I have, and other experience goes into talks. I am also involved in Interest Groups Online where I'm a member of a Climate Matters group, and inspired by that, we're going to start a climate group at Newham u3a.

Right now, we just need more members. I think once we’re up and running, more people will join.

I’m a firm believer in the u3a ethos. I want to participate actively in the u3a movement. When new members are looking to join, I always tell them, "this is a totally voluntary organisation, you need to think how you can contribute, it’s your organisation, it’s not just being a member." If people just sit back and don't contribute, their u3a will not be successful.

I’ve been retired for seven years now. In terms of connections, people always talk about social isolation and connections when you retire. Once you've finished work, I think it's important to move on and do something else. Look at the connections I’ve made. I feel I’m making a contribution to the community. I’m much better for it as a person.

Hopefully we'll soon get a Zoom licence and we’ll do some things online – personally I’m going to Australia soon and I want to be able to join in remotely. Luckily our u3a is in very capable hands with everyone else on the committee.

If you are interested in setting up a new u3a or want to find out more, please contact the Trustee for your Region or Nation, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.