PRESS BRIEFING ON YEAR OF OLDER PERSONS

Press Briefing

PRESS BRIEFING ON YEAR OF OLDER PERSONS

At a Headquarters press briefing this morning, Julia Tavores de Alvarez, Ambassador and Alternate Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to the United Nations, said that policies regarding ageing could not be formulated based on faulty perceptions of older people. To that end, the International Year of Older Persons would help the international community to focus less on counting, and more on consciousness. Older people must be allowed and encouraged to see themselves as actors in the drama of their lives and in the functioning of society. "We must all be aware that ability, not chronology, is the measure of what people can contribute to society", she added.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan will launch the 1999 International Year of Older Persons on 1 October -- The International Day of Older Persons -- at United Nations Headquarters. The launch is being organized by the Non-Governmental Organizations Committee on Ageing in collaboration with the United Nations Programme on Ageing and the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI). The theme of the Year will be "Toward a Society for All Ages".

Alexandre Sidorenko, Officer-in-Charge of the Ageing Unit of the United Nations Programme on Ageing, said ageing was a much bigger issue than was generally thought. Globally, from 1950 to 1995, more than 20 years had been added to average life expectancy, with the figure being even larger for developing countries. Every month a million persons around the world crossed the threshold of 60 years -- of which more than 80 per cent live in the developing world. In some developing countries, one out of every four people was at least 60 years old, while, in the world on average, one out of every 14 people was past 60. He added that ageing might increasingly become a female issue, as, although women lived longer than men, they lived less healthy lives.

He said the challenge of those dramatic demographic changes -- which he characterized as a new revolution for society -- had to be considered both by individuals and society, and adjustments had to be made to create a society for all ages. One challenge of the International Year of Older Persons would be to think about how to support and ensure that those added years of life would be a time of fulfilment and contribution, and not of misery and struggle with illness.

Helen Hamlin, Chairperson of the United Nations NGO Committee on Ageing, said that the NGOs which were active on ageing saw the Year of Older Persons as a time to review and celebrate the roles, the achievements, and the ongoing participation in society of the older generation, as well as an occasion to plan and design for the future. The year would provide an opportunity to examine and acknowledge older persons as resources, she said. She stressed the importance of being increasingly mindful of attitudes about ageing that

Older Persons Briefing - 2 - 28 September 1998

could be altered, and of learning more about how different societies viewed their older population. Older persons should be seen as capable, rich in experience and history, and independent in thought and action, and should not be viewed as a burden ready to be put on the shelf.

The NGO Committee on Ageing had prepared a fact sheet to facilitate discussion on the demographic impact of ageing, and on how older people could contribute to social and sustainable development, she said. Respect for the dignity of every person should be upheld to the very end of the life cycle -- ageism would not die without the full effort of everyone in society. In the past, society had said goodbye to people when they had reached 60 years of age. "We are saying we are here, we can contribute, we need to contribute, and you need us just as we need you", Ms. Hamlin stressed.

A correspondent asked what persons aged 45 to 50 could do to prepare for ageing, and what could be done to change the "ageist" perception of older persons as helpless and a burden. Ms. Hamlin said that in this century everyone was used to preparing for retirement, but that living the extra years after retirement was another matter. One important way of preparing for ageing was health. Staying healthy could change self-ageist attitudes, as well as show society that ageing persons were useful, strong, and accomplished.

The issue took on a different dimension in developing countries, said Ms. Alvarez. Older people were poor first. For example, most developing countries did not have a formal social security system, and it was common for older people to keep working until they dropped dead. Developing countries could not use the same solutions as developed countries, but must innovate. She added that developing countries had to face the problem in a much shorter time.

Noting that the onus for tackling the issue seemed to be on individuals and governments, a correspondent asked what the United Nations was planning to do to carry out the agenda internationally. Mr. Sidorenko said the International Year of Ageing Persons offered opportunities to address the issue and raise awareness. The Year was not meant to be a series of celebrations, but a series of solutions, with much depending on the will and intention of Member States.

Also addressing the correspondent's question, Ms. Alvarez said that the United Nations Ageing Unit had only three staff members, and the Trust Fund on Ageing had used up most of the $1 million that had come from voluntary contributions. It was not fair to blame the United Nations, she said. It was up to Member States to take up the issue, but they tended to respond to crisis.

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