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Welcome to your quarterly Age-friendly World newsletter |
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2023 was a year of many milestones: new affiliates, many more new Global Network members, and a new WHO resource on developing national age-friendly programmes – just to name a few.
This year, a big priority for the GNAFCC Secretariat is to build on these accomplishments to better support current and future members to make the most the Global Network's knowledge and experiences.
In this newsletter, we’re sharing some of how we’ve been starting to act on this priority, ranging from improving our existing resources’ language accessibility to amplifying good practices from members in non-anglophone countries.
One of the most important strengths of the Global Network is our incredible diversity. This is a strength we’d like to continue reinforcing, because all communities around the world can benefit from becoming more age-friendly.
We’re looking forward to working with you to make the Global Network a more supportive and helpful community for everyone, even as we continue to grow. So please explore this newsletter, spread the word, and keep sharing your age-friendly practices with the global community on Age-friendly World.
GNAFCC Secretariat
World Health Organization
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Member in Focus: Centre for an Age-friendly Norway |
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This quarter, our Member in Focus is the Centre for an Age-friendly Norway. The Centre recently joined the Global Network as a new affiliate and operates as a national age-friendly programme within the Norwegian Directorate of Health.
Developing national age-friendly programmes continues to be one of the best ways to support the Global Network, so we’re excited to have the Centre with us!
The Centre also acts as the host of a Norwegian network of age-friendly cities and communities, supporting 216 members across the country. Two of the cities in the national network, Oslo and Trondheim, are also members of our Global Network.
The Centre for an Age-Friendly Norway aims to enable older people across the country to lead good, meaningful, and independent lives through developing sustainable and age-friendly communities. We look forward to learning from their experience and supporting their efforts to create an age-friendly Norway!
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Age-friendly Practice in Focus: ensemble2générations – Habitat partagé en résidence autonomie (Shared housing in an independent residence) |
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The Age-friendly Practice in Focus for this quarter is ensemble2générations: an intergenerational shared housing programme in Bordeaux, France.
The programme has been running since 2017, inviting younger people who face increasing housing shortages to live in the homes of isolated older people. A number of similar initiatives exist around the world, but a key feature of ensemble2générations is the care taken to match younger and older people according to backgrounds and interests.
WHO recently published a practical ‘how-to’ guide on intergenerational practice under the Global Campaign to Combat Ageism, which highlights the importance of planning intergenerational contact well to avoid worsening existing ageism. Ensemble2générations is a great example of this, but the practice also highlights how developing age-friendly environments can address many other issues at once – in this case, ageism and loneliness. |
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Opportunities to join the 2024 editions of the AFE-ECHO learning programme |
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To support stakeholders understand and implement the WHO age-friendly framework, the International Federation on Ageing (IFA) has worked with WHO to run the Age-friendly Environments ECHO programme (AFE-ECHO). AFE-ECHO is a multi-session learning cycle designed to build leaders for the next decade of age-friendly cities and communities.
Last year’s edition brought together age-friendly leaders from 78 countries across all WHO regions. For 2024, WHO and IFA are pleased to share that AFE-ECHO editions will take place in English and French.
French edition (registrations open!): 3 April to 22 May 2024, with the support of the Centre de recherche sur le vieillissement de Sherbrooke
English edition: October to December 2024
AFE-ECHO runs in a virtual format over Zoom and welcomes learners of all experience levels. Register today and spread the word with your colleagues and networks!
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Online event: “Promoting civil and political participation of older persons: an international exchange” |
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Supporting inclusive civil and political participation is a key element of making any city or community more age-friendly.
In this online event, learn from international examples on how older persons can exercise their right to civil and political participation within their neighbourhoods and communities.
Date: 18 April 2024
Time: 14:30 – 16:30 CET
Format: Online
This is event is part of the series “An engaged civil society as engine for an age-friendly society”. The event is co-organised by Global Network affiliate AGE Platform Europe and BAGSO – the German National Association of Senior Citizens’ Organisations; in collaboration with the NGO Committee on Ageing Geneva and UNECE; with support from the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) of Germany.
The event will be held in German and English, and is open to civil society organisations, older persons and their representative organisations as well as to other stakeholders interested in engaging with civil society.
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Kanagawa Prefecture promoting knowledge sharing and industry-academia-government collaboration in age-friendly environments |
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Kanagawa Prefecture, a Global Network affiliate, recently co-hosted a webinar with the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific to share knowledge and good practices from six industry-academia-government collaborative initiatives. These initiatives were implemented in age-friendly cities across Kanagawa, Japan; Malaysia; and New Zealand.
Congratulations to Kanagawa Prefecture for the successful webinar, and for championing the strength of the Global Network in showcasing age-friendly practices across borders. |
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Updates from the Network Secretariat |
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WHO guide for national age-friendly programmes now available in French |
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100% of municipalities in Querétaro, Mexico join the Global Network |
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Since 2022, the State of Querétaro in Mexico has implemented a strategy to accelerate the development of age-friendly cities and communities within its area. So it is with great pleasure that we mark the membership of all 18 municipalities in the state to the Global Network. ¡Enhorabuena!
The municipalities of the State of Querétaro, in addition to being committed to promoting healthy aging through the creation of age-friendly environments, work through the "Municipalities for Health" project to promote inter-sectoral collaboration. Example initiatives include the medicinal plant collection in San Joaquín municipality and the "Hand in Hand for Your Safety" program in Querétaro municipality, as shared in the Global Database of Age-friendly Practices.
This milestone is a great example of both how national and subnational programmes can accelerate the global age-friendly movement, and how the age-friendly approach can foster the cross-sectoral collaboration called for by the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing. |
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New report – World Population Ageing 2023: Challenges and opportunities of population ageing in the least developed countries |
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By 2050, 80% of older people will live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). At the same time, these countries will experience population ageing at an unprecedented rapid pace. To ensure that the opportunities of ageing are enjoyed by all people around the world, urgent action is required to foster healthy ageing in LMICs – including through the development of age-friendly environments.
The report World Population Ageing 2023 examines the potential of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to benefit from population ageing. Through an analysis of demographic, social, economic and health-related indicators, as well as associated policies and investments, the report assesses the challenges and opportunities of translating favourable demographic trends into economic and developmental gains.
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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.
Submit your news on Age-friendly World or get in touch with us at gnafcc@who.int. |
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