Images of age and ageing

In some countries, the authorities are encouraging public debate on societal images of age and ageing with the aim of sensitizing the public to the potential of older people. However, the term “images of age and ageing” is usually avoided on ministerial websites. One country raising this issue is Spain, where on the occasion of International Women’s Day on 8 March, the Spanish Women’s Institute (Instituto de la Mujer) and the Directorate-General of the Institute for the Elderly and Social Services jointly hosted a conference that was specifically devoted to the situation of older women. [(“The chances of age: Wise Women”) Las oportunidades de la edad: Mujeres Sabias)].
More information can be found here.

In the UK, a number of programmes have been initiated to encourage a positive social image of age and ageing. For instance, the “Ageing Well” programme, which has been running since 2010, helps local authorities improve services for older people, support the civic engagement of older people locally and combat social isolation among the elderly by emphasizing the potential of older people and developing local ‘Ageing Well’ approaches. For more information, click here.

Moreover, the International Day of Older People will be celebrated in the UK for the third time on 1 October. This year’s motto is “getting and staying active in later life”. The aim of the campaign is to encourage older people to get involved and to point to the benefits associated with physical, mental and social activity in old age.

In France, a national debate on the future of care took place in the first half of 2011. One of the four working groups established within the scope of this debate is dealing with the topic “Society and Ageing”; it hopes to shed light on the situation of older people in French society. The final report of the Working Group is available here.