Welcome to the

Age-friendly World Newsletter!

In this Newsletter:

A special issue celebrating the International Day of Older Persons 2018!

• UNECE/UNFPA/NGO Committee on Ageing - Joint social media celebration

• International Day of Older Persons 2018 at WHO

• AGE Platform Europe launches campaign - #AgeingEqual

UNECE/UNFPA/NGO Committee on Ageing - Joint Social Media Celebration

2018 marks the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights since its adoption by the UN General Assembly in 1948. To celebrate, this year’s International Day of Older Persons on 1 October will commemorate older people around the world who dedicate their lives to championing human rights. Together with the #StandUp4HumanRights campaign led by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, UNECE, UNFPA, and the NGO Committee on Ageing jointly invite you to a social media celebration with everyone working on protecting older persons’ enjoyment and promotion of human rights.

Please join us using the hashtags #IDOP2018 and #StandUp4HumanRights to acknowledge, celebrate, and give visibility to older persons who champion human rights around the world. This can be as simple as posting their picture with a short description of how they stand up for human rights and a link to further information on their work.

We look forward to learning about and sharing the diversity of ways in which older persons champion human rights around the world. Spread the word and encourage your networks to do the same!

International Day of Older Persons 2018 at the World Health Organization

The World Health Organization will join the celebration on the International Day of Older Persons by highlighting everyone’s rights to health, no matter what age they are. On 1 October, three former country representatives will come together at WHO HQ to reflect on what they could and could not do in their work to promote equity in ageing. Boureima Hama Sambo (former WHO Representative in Gabon), Ornella Lincetto (former WHO Representative in Bhutan), and Anshu Banerjee (former WHO Representative, Sudan) will participate, and Ritu Sadana, Senior Health Advisor at WHO’s Department of Ageing and Life Course, will moderate the discussion in alignment with the Global strategy and action plan on ageing and health.

Achieving the 13th WHO General Programme of Work’s goal of reducing the number of older adults who are care dependent by 15 million by 2023 requires a full commitment to the Sustainable Development Goal’s focus on leaving no one behind. The world is getting older, but too many people are spending their precious older years in poor health, and every person must have the right to optimise their chance for health and well-being regardless of their age.

A recording of the seminar will be made available after the event.

AGE Platform Europe launches campaign - #AgeingEqual

To celebrate and highlight that human rights do not diminish with age, AGE Platform Europe has announced a 70 day campaign against ageism, ‘Ageing Equal’. The campaign will invite people and organisations from around the world to stand up for everyone’s rights no matter what age you are, and be vocal in raising awareness of ageism and age-discrimination as a serious global issue.  

The campaign will launch on 1 October, the International Day of Older Persons, and will run for 10 weeks leading up to the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 10 December. Each week will have specific theme, demonstrating the widespread effects of ageism across diverse groups in society. A campaign blog will also feature written contributions and testimonials from organisations, experts, and individuals with the aim to establish a lasting community and platform for action around the momentum of the Declaration’s 70th anniversary. 

To find out more about the campaign, visit the website here or their guide to involvement here.

About us

Age-friendly World is a World Health Organization website dedicated to promoting age-friendliness around the world. The World Health Organization Global Network for Age-friendly Cities and Communities (GNAFCC) is a global coalition of cities and communities committed to becoming more age-friendly. We currently consist of 720 member cities and communities in 39 countries, covering a population of over 210 million people. 

Submit your news on Age-friendly World or get in touch with us at gnafcc@who.int.