INTERNATIONAL DAY OF OLDER PERSONS MARKED AT UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS

Press Release
PI/1184
SOC/4516

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF OLDER PERSONS MARKED AT UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS

Longevity Revolution To Be Seen in Global Context, Says Keynote Speaker

The longevity revolution taking place all over the world presented the same challenges everywhere, Under Secretary-General for the Economic and Social Affairs, Nitin Desai, said as the Ninth International Day of Older Persons was observed at Headquarters this morning.

Today’s event, centred on the theme of “Across Generations/Across Cultures” was the culmination to the International Year of Older Persons. It was organized by the Non-Governmental Organizations Committee in collaboration with the United Nations programme on Ageing and the United Nations Department of Public Information.

In his keynote address, Mr. Desai said the first challenge with regard to the longevity revolution was to change the concept of ageing. The second was to recognize that old age was not an affliction or disease, and the third was to see the longevity revolution in a global context. There was a tendency to see it as taking place in the richer countries of the world. But 50 years down the road, the proportion of the elderly would be the same in the developed and developing worlds.

In introductory remarks, the Director of the Public Affairs Division at the United Nations Department of Public Information, Therese Gastaut, said today was an opportunity to bring attention to the intergenerational aspect of “Building a society for all ages”. Assistant Secretary-General for External Relations, Gillian Sorensen, delivered a message on behalf of the Secretary-General. (See Press Release SG/SM/7150-OBV/109.)

Other speakers were Helen Hamlin, Chair of the United Nations Non-Governmental Committee on Ageing; Gordon Klopf, Chair of the 1999 International Day of Older Persons; Alexandre Sidorenko, Coordinator, United Nations International Year of Older Persons; Alexandre Kalache, Chief, Office of Ageing and Mental Health, World Health Organization; and Rolling Walker, Social Worker and Mediator.

Julia Alvarez from the Permanent Mission of the Dominican Republic and Aurelio Fernandez, Counselor for Social Affairs for the Permanent Mission of Spain, received awards for their work during the International Year of Older Persons.

Statements

THERESE GASTAUT, Director of the Public Affairs Division in the Department of Public Information and moderator for the programme, welcomed guests on behalf of the department’s Under-Secretary General, Kensaku Hogan. Summarizing the background of the Day and the Year, she said the gathering today was an opportunity to bring attention to the intergenerational aspect of “Building a society for all ages”.

GILLIAN SORENSEN, Assistant Secretary-General for External Relations, delivered a message on behalf of the Secretary-General. In his message, she said, the Secretary-General had said that as we leave the International Year of Ageing, we should take with us an awareness of the benefits in a society that “cares for and counts on people of all ages”.

NITIN DESAI, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said in the keynote address that the Queen of Spain was to have been the keynote speaker. “She could not be here for a very happy reason. She is attending the birth of her grandchild.” That was the most appropriate development for this day, demonstrating the interconnection between persons across the generations.

The demographic longevity revolution was a social revolution comparable to any in history, the Under-Secretary continued. The challenge was to devise actions to reflect the demographic longevity change. First to be changed was the conception of ageing. “What is the problem with ageing?” he asked. “You always wanted to live long, so what’s the problem?” That first challenge came down to seeing things differently.

The second challenge was to recognize that old age was not an affliction or disease, he said. Old people could do many of the things young ones could do. The third challenge was to see the longevity revolution in a global context and to address its implications from that angle. That involved projecting society into the future because there was a tendency to see the longevity revolution as taking place in the richer countries of the world, perhaps because there was a correlation with economic advantages and a lengthened lifespan. The longevity revolution, however, was taking place all over the world. Today there were perhaps more elderly in the developed countries than in developing world; 50 years down, the proportions would be even.

The implications of a longevity revolution taking place in areas where there was no social security and no mechanism for dealing with the changing demographics would be profound, he continued. But the social changes required for those countries to adapt to the generational shift were the same as those needing to be undertaken in developed countries.

First, he said, health care systems needed to accommodate the generational shift now occurring. That included not just health care for the ageing, but also putting an emphasis on the reality of an ageing majority. From a focus on childhood diseases, say, the emphasis would have to shift onto research into conditions associated with ageing. Further, as the ageing revolution continued, environmental design had to acknowledge the need to promote active ageing. Design of transportation systems, for example, would have to address the question of how to make it easier for older people to get around. That would not only accommodate the ageing but would actively promote and encourage active ageing to give the ageing population the incentive for greater longevity.

Another shift that would be occurring during the ageing revolution was a shift in focus with regard to education, he said. Education would no longer be considered an activity for the early learning years but would affirm the belief that learning was a lifetime experience. “Old age now is considered the age of wisdom. As someone nearing that age, I agree with that perspective”, the Under-Secretary- General said. However, he added, increasingly systems of learning would have to emphasize the lifelong aspects of educational needs. Similarly, work would be increasingly considered a lifelong activity.

A final aspect of ageing that would be changing during the longevity revolution was the dependency issue, he said. There was a pervasive view that older people were dependent. That view was incorrect. The accommodation that people deserved in old age was a return on their investment from life and the economic system of society had to adjust to that reality. People would start thinking of their future years at the age 20 when work was seen as a lifelong activity. There would not be that big break in the life course that now came with retirement. Already, many older people worked beyond their retirement, often without being paid in a way comparable to the unpaid work of women. Older people were contributing and in many cases they should be paid. Taking that step again required a shift in perspective.

The challenge was to incorporate the concept of “A Society for All Ages” into society, he concluded. That theme reflected the idea that everyone had “something to get and something to give”. Much had been achieved, but much remained to be done in making that concept a part of social reality.

HELEN HAMLIN, Chair of the NGO Committee on Ageing, said the NGO Committee had committed itself to working “Towards a Society for All Ages” at the start of the new century. It embraced every opportunity to develop new awareness about the ageing process from birth throughout the life cycle. It pursued activities to encourage appreciation for the interdependence of generations. It was also furthering a deeper understanding of the United Nations Principles for Older Persons, to give the Principles a wider distribution in all corners of the world. There was much work in establishing givens about older persons, that they were a resource rather than a burden. It was essential to demonstrate that truth on the macro and micro levels in public policy and social development.

One objective for the next year was to promote the reality that older persons were a major group in the world, she said. As such, older persons must be included in all United Nations debates. Groups and institutions that ignored the demographic fact of older persons would imperil their future. Being vital to communities, older persons were vital to countries and regions. “Planning with older persons will benefit all sectors”, she said.

GORDON KLOPF, Chair of the 1999 International Day of Older Persons, said he hoped everyone would work harder in terms of ideas and actions toward the improvement of the situation of older people worldwide in the coming years. He hoped for the “reintegration of older adults in the soul of society” not just in activities such as bingo. Mr. Klopf presented Julia Alvarez from the Permanent Mission of the Dominican Republic with an award for her “work during the International Year of Older Persons that she conducted with “great concern and carried with grace, caring and dignity”.

HELEN HAMLIN, Chair of the United Nations NGO Committee on Ageing, presented Aurelio Fernandez, Counselor for Social Affairs, Permanent Mission of Spain to the United Nations, with an award for his work during the Year.

Mr. Fernandez said he hoped for a long-term strategy and research for the improvement of the situation of older persons. He hoped that ageing should be “at the centre of development efforts”.

ALEXANDRE SIDORENKO, Coordinator, United Nations International Year of Older Persons, said the enormous amount of substantive and celebratory activity during the Year seemed almost immeasurable and had gone beyond everyone’s expectations. “We saw attempts in the Philippines to provide older persons with access to credit”, he said. In addition, in Nepal, retired doctors had provided services to older persons at subsidized rates. Furthermore, in Spain, Germany, Australia and the United States, comprehensive initiatives had galvanized collaborative efforts to mainstream older persons in society.

Lifelong individual development and intergenerational schemes had flourished during the Year, he said. In Cameroon, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Portugal and Venezuela programmes between the generations in the creative arts, technology and cultural activities had taken place. In India, Slovakia and Japan efforts to produce learning and developmental opportunities throughout people’s life-span had been made. Also, macro-societal implications of population ageing had been explored by the United Kingdom, as well as by regional entities including the European Commission, he said.

“Building on the momentum established by the Year is paramount”, he said. For that reason, the Programme on ageing continued to move forward into a more substantive exploration towards a policy for a society for all ages. It was important to realize that the 600 million older persons today would grow in number to nearly 2 billion by the year 2050, when they would outnumber the population of children for the first time in human history. The majority of the world’s older persons resided in Asia at 53 per cent of the population, while in Europe they composed 25 per cent of the total population. “How we interact with these challenges is a task each of us pursues”, he said. He hoped society would recognize the holistic rewards in sustaining multigenerational continuity and to struggle against the impulse that viewed ageing as a separate enigma. The latter was an “annoying side-effect of technological advancement”, he said.

The conceptual framework for a Society for All Ages had been recently developed and introduced to Member States at the current session of the General Assembly. “Its key component maintains that investment in ageing can help create a mutually enriching multigenerational society”, he said.

FAITH INNERARITY, Director of Social Security, Ministry of Social Affairs, Jamaica, Vice Chair of the United Nations Commission for Social Development, said intergenerational relationships were essential for family lives. A society for all ages would enable generations to invest in one another and benefit from that. Population ageing had been a characteristic of the twentieth century. “Ageing is a global phenomenon”, she said. The least developed nations would see their population triple in the next 50 years. There would be hundreds of centenarians in the coming years, especially in China. Also, pensions, health care systems and social assistance would become more important in the coming years.

Older persons were not a “liability to society, but a very valuable asset”, she emphasized. The pension systems had become privatized. A shift from political responsibility had occurred. “Pensions are earned, not given”, she said. It was one’s labour and sweat. All related reforms needed to be underlined.

ALEXANDRE KALACHE, Chief, Office of Ageing and Mental Health, World Health Organization, said today was his grandmother’s one hundredth birthday. He then related a Sunday scene from his childhood in Brazil, which had included his grandparents, to illustrate the extended, multigenerational life of families common in his childhood 50 years ago. Three days after that scene, his grandfather had suffered a stroke and had lived for three years, receiving only home care. Thereafter, his grandmother had lived for many years as an integral part of the family. That had been the common way of life in Brazil in his childhood.

By 1975, when he revisited Brazil after an absence of many years, Dr. Kalache said that way of life had completely disappeared. There were no such extended families by then. The country had become urbanized. Woman had joined the workforce. In 1975, the average woman in Brazil bore six children during the childbearing years of her lifetime. Now, the average woman bore 2.5 children.

ROLLING WALKER, Social Worker and Mediator of the United States, said there was a general fearful tone to any discussion about how, when and if, elders in a society should receive elder care and who should provide it. That same fearful tone was heard whenever ageing was portrayed as an active, participatory stage in which older people were an integral part of the competitive workforce. That fear came from the younger generation, which desired less competition and it also came from the older generation, at times accompanied by resentment.

Social issues throughout history had been determined on the basis of the premise that survival was a fearful proposition, she said. That fear had evolved into the thinking that only the fittest would survive. The fittest had come to be thought of as the wealthiest. Life itself had thus come to be seen as a commodity, with a lucky few buying better lives. The global economy in terms of human life had become unbalanced as a result. That was obvious whenever the question of providing services arose. “Can we afford to pay for the health care of our elders”? was the question which frequently arose. The answer was, how could we afford not to pay for that or any integral part of life?

Ms. GASTAUT, in closing remarks, said that the Secretary-General put great emphasis on making human beings the centre of United Nations activities. The two United Nations speakers had given an institutional perspective, but also a lively one. The Day and the Year had been a success because the United Nations had worked the way it should, enabling a coalition of NGOs, agencies and United Nations Departments to work together. The goal of the United Nations was to include everyone in “Building A Society for All Ages” that would promote world peace.

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