Sharjah Social Affairs” organizes a “meeting of programs affiliated with the Age-Friendly Cities Network
Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Mail, Director General of the Department of Social Services in Sharjah, confirmed that the Emirate of Sharjah is working diligently and actively to sustain its acquisition of the title of age-friendly city, and to this end it has achieved more than 91% documented and available standards required by the Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities affiliated with the World Health Organization. Global, after joining the network in 2017, under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council of the Federation and Ruler of Sharjah, who was the sponsor and first catalyst for this joining, and His Highness assigned the Department of Social Services in Sharjah these tasks, from which the establishment of an office emerged. Sharjah is age-friendly in the department. Al-Mil said in his speech during the department’s hosting of the “Meeting of Programs Associated with the Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities,” which was held in cooperation with the World Health Organization in Geneva, at the Sharjah Vintage Cars Museum, that the aim of the meeting is to identify some global models and experiences as programs affiliated with the Network and in How to submit information about their cities to the WHO Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities.
Pointing out that the achievements achieved came in cooperation with the local partners of the department represented by departments and institutions in various sectors, who have been keen throughout these years to adopt the official standards of the Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities to provide the best and provide a sustainable environment suitable for the elderly in a proactive manner, by transferring experiences to leading countries that We preceded us in this field, thus improving all services in all sectors in Sharjah provided to this segment of our society. For her part, Asma Al-Khudari, Director of the Sharjah Age-Sensitive Office, addressed in her speech the strategic direction set by the office through a realistic and ambitious strategic plan in which all capabilities were made available to perform all activities and services according to available resources, which ensures achieving the integration of the elderly into society.
The importance of providing activities was taken into account. It serves the standards of age-friendly cities issued by the World Health Organization. The Sharjah Office’s age-friendly strategic plan was also prepared and developed through the joint efforts of the heads, directors and officials of various government and private agencies in the emirate, who numbered 29 institutions. Their plans were based on the foundations of permanence, by offering programs and activities characterized by continuity. Equality, that work is done with the elderly on the principle of equality and justice, and advocacy, that work is done on the basis of supporting and adopting the idea that Sharjah is an age-friendly city.
A number of representatives of foreign countries participated in the meeting to present their experiences in the field of services that meet the standards and aspects of age-friendly cities. Dr. Thiago Herrique de Sa, representative of the Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities, also spoke, praising the experience of Sharjah, which has worked sustainably over the past years to maintain its title as an age-friendly city. He expressed his happiness at meeting the requirements of the Age-Friendly Cities Program and the commitment to work to create modern cities that enjoy a healthy lifestyle. And the presence of senior citizens’ communities. The meeting presented the experiences of foreign countries, namely the Slovenian Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities, and affiliated programs in North and South America, Portugal and Ireland, in addition to the participation of a representative from the European Health Organization, whose experiences emphasized the importance of providing safety and an appropriate healthy aging environment in terms of places, services and policies. It encourages them to enjoy activity at their various stages of life while maintaining their autonomy according to the available capabilities and provides support to develop cities around the world to be considerate cities, which leads to improving the lives of the elderly through the application of specified standards.
On the sidelines of the meeting, an exhibition of services provided to the elderly was held in Sharjah, in which the Sharjah Police General Headquarters, the Department of Economic Development, the Roads and Transport Authority, the Commerce and Tourism Development Authority, and the Emirates Society of Friends of the Elderly, in addition to the Department of Social Services, participated. At the conclusion of the meeting, the participants were honored.