“Each older particular person has the correct to age with dignity safety and entry to alternatives that enrich their lives,” stated one of many key organisers of the Worldwide Day of Older Individuals, Arjanita Elezaj.
“These aren’t privileges, they’re human rights,” she informed a gathering at UN Headquarters to commemorate the day, the place key points equivalent to boosting alternatives for older individuals to participate in civic and cultural life had been debated, together with healthcare and housing.
This yr’s theme highlighted that older individuals should be given company to play an energetic position in driving native and international motion, geared toward amplifying their voice in policymaking and an effort to construct extra inclusive societies.
“Older individuals carry with them a lifetime of lived experiences, residence and repair,” stated Ms. Elezaj. “They’re the architects of communities, actions and establishments that proceed to information us in the present day. But too typically, their voices go unheard.”
The world is rising older
The variety of individuals aged 60 or over has greater than doubled to 1.2 billion up to now three many years and is projected to succeed in 2.1 billion by 2050, in line with a mission assertion by organisers of the occasion in New York.
With international life expectancy growing, the variety of individuals aged 80 and over is predicted to surpass the variety of infants by the mid-2030s.
“We should reply with foresight and motion. Which means guaranteeing that the rights of older individuals are absolutely revered, their dignity upheld, and their contributions recognised,” stated the UN Secretary-Normal António Guterres in his message for the day.
‘Urgency’ for an age-inclusive motion
With a smile and an anecdote, professor and Dean Emerita of the Columbia College College of Social Work, Jeanette Takamura, reminded the viewers that ageing is a common phenomenon.
“Once I final spoke at this podium my hair was darkish brown and I used to be an inch taller,” she stated.
Now, 26 years later, “I’m clearly an inch shorter with silver hair,” she added.
In her speech, she emphasised the “urgency of heightened multigenerational outreach and inclusion” to propel ahead an age-inclusive, international social motion.
She underlined that social actions are most impactful once they embrace a broad spectrum and emphasised the necessity for youthful and older generations to study from and about one different.
“The groundwork for a social motion has been laid by all of the worldwide years previous,” she counseled.
“Allow us to train knowledge, be brokers of social change and increase our tent to welcome the a number of generations of youthful individuals we want as companions and co-creators.”
