Setting the scene....and closing the conference....

Ageing connects

Prague, May 2012

Alexandre KalachePresident - International Longevity Centre - Brazil

Senior Policy Advisor on Global Ageing, New York Academy of Medicine

HelpAge International Global Ambassador

Last century technology helped us to control

premature death and reproduction.

This century technology holds the potential to extend and improve

quality of life...

...for those with access to such wonders!!

EQUALITY!!!!

THE DIVERSITY OF OLD AGE

GenderSES

Age groupsCulture

EthnicityRural/Urban

Sexual identityNationalityReligion...

etc... etc...

Ageing – the contrasts

Hundreds of millions are left out of the technologies

WE take for granted.

Too many labels: confusing!

• Productive• Positive• Ageing well• Successful• Healthy• Vital

•Active

Kalache - ConsultoriasKalache - Consultorias

WHO definition of Active WHO definition of Active Ageing:Ageing:

The process of optimizing the The process of optimizing the opportunities for Health, opportunities for Health,

Participation and Security in Participation and Security in order to enhance quality of order to enhance quality of

life as individuals agelife as individuals age

The 4th Pillar:Life long learning

International Conference on Active Ageing, Seville, 2010

Alan Walker’s superb address

Embracing a Rights-based approach – implying:

• The Right to Health• The Right to Learn• The Right to Work• The Right to be Protected• The Right to be Insured• The Right to Participate• The Right not to be neglected,

abused, abandoned...as well as...

•The Right to Stop•The Right to Rest

Strengthening international mechanisms for the protection of Rights

of Older Persons

The need for an International CONVENTION

Emphasis on “productivity” can be

misplaced.

In developing countries 80% of Older Persons do not have basic income

On the whole they are highly productive... and deeply unprotected.

Older People are resources to their families,

communities and the Economy.WHO Brasilia Declaration, 1996

The impact of the global financial crisis

In Spain: 25% unemployment rate, over 50% within the age group 15-24!

However, within contexts such as these, older people often become the main source of income for the whole family.

Yet...in terms of policies we are still doing nearly

everything wrong

...stuck within a 19th century mind frame: compulsory retirement; little thought given to graduated retirement; lack of training opportunities which limits individuals’ ability to reinvent themselves as they age .

Bismarck was right in 1881...

But since then 130 years have passed, LEB has increased to 80+ in at

least 20 countries – and counting. Yet we are still by and large trapped in

the same policies.

ULTIMATELY WHAT IS NEEDED, IS TO FIGHT

FOR INCLUSION.

Kalache - ConsultoriasKalache - Consultorias

A A NONO TO ALL FORMS OF EXCLUSION TO ALL FORMS OF EXCLUSION

WHERE ARE WE NOW!??

Important neglected issues

• Migration and ageing• LTC – continuum of care• Ethical issues ; terminal care: death

with dignity• Crisis/emergencies• Life course of accumulated exclusion• Intergenerational solidarity/global crisis• Controlling the anti-ageing industry....

Neglected issues• Proven effective health interventions –

e.g. Immunization• Sustainable policies/interventions – e.g. age friendly cities and communities• How to bring neglected issues to the

stage – e.g. the successful example of elder abuse

• The interfaces of technology/ globalization/urbanization

Re-inventing the life course:

...intertwining periods for learning, for being “productive”, for raising children, for caring, for recharging batteries...for starting again...at whatever age.

The emergence of a new transition

Baby boomers “created” the social construct of adolescence – because of the numbers, the unprecedented levels of education and good health and because they lived in Peace and relative wealth.

What a luxury compared to any preceding cohort!!

GERONTOLESCENCE

Now...we are starting to “create” a new transition...we are:

gerontolescents.

The difference is that while adolescence lasts for

4 or 5 years, gerontolescence will last

for 2, 3 decades.

Solidarity between the old and the young.

Pedro Kalache, 2003