The UN OEWG held its 7th meeting at the UN headquarters in New York from 12 to 15 December 2016, in which several governments from all regions of the world took part, as well as approximately 80 representatives of civil society. AGE Platform Europe (AGE) was represented by Ebbe Johansen, Vice-President and Nena Georgantzi, Policy Officer. Heidrun Mollenkopf, Vice-President of AGE also participated on behalf of our German association, BAGSO. In addition our members and experts from the UK (Age UK International) and France (FIAPA) attended the meeting.

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AGE Platform Europe was one of the partners of the European Summit on Active and Healthy Ageing organised by the European Commission in partnership with the European Parliament and the Committee of the Regions on 6-7 December 2016. The event gathered more than 1600 participants from a variety of sectors (industry, public authorities, research, civil society,…) to debate, share experience and build partnership on the use and development of digital solutions to promote active and healthy ageing and support the ‘Silver Economy’ in Europe.

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Last 8-9 December 2016, the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth and the Observatory for Sociopolitical Developments in Europe organised an expert meeting on “Elder abuse in the home care of people living with dementia”. AGE was invited to join the discussions.

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Especially in the digital field, standards can make our lives safer and simpler by ensuring the accessibility and compatibility of products. As an end-users’ organisation, AGE aims to contribute to standardisation to support the adaptation of goods, services and environments to the needs of the ageing population. This is why since October 2016, AGE is involved in the PROGRESSIVE project for Progressive Standards around ICT for Active and Healthy Ageing.

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In response to the public consultation on the EU Pillar of Social Rights, which aimed at more convergence between EU countries in the fields of employment and social inclusion, AGE has published its contribution bringing older persons’ perspective in this key debate.

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As part of our involvement in the FamiliesAndSocieties project, AGE Platform Europe has interviewed Mr Bernhard Riederer, researcher of the work package on Foresight. 

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Adopted in April 2002, the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA) is a comprehensive action plan bringing governments, civil society and other stakeholders together for building a society for all ages.

Collecting AGE members’ feedback, AGE has drafted its contribution to 2017 review of the MIPAA RIS (Regional Implementation Strategy) across the European Union. 

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This year’s UN International Day of Older Persons urges for ‘taking a stand against ageism’ and rethink our views and attitudes towards the older generation, underlining the prevalence and detrimental impact of ageism, i.e. the stereotyping and discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of their age.

To mark that Day, AGE co-organized a joint event at the European Parliament.

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In December, the Council of ministers of the EU has finally adopted the revised ‘Directive on Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision’ (IORP-II), regulating occupational pensions, after the approval of the European Parliament in its plenary session. AGE has been accompanying the revision process started in 2014 and welcomes the adoption of the revision, while regretting that important improvements have been left out of the proposal.

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In December 2016 the European Commission proposed a revision of the legislation on social security coordination. This legislation clarifies which social security system covers a citizen that moves to another European Union country and their rights to services and benefits.

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In December 2016 Families and Societies published a European Policy Brief on “Policies for families: Is there a best practice?”, exploring whether in a context of changing family patterns some welfare systems address the new realities better than others

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The 4-year European project Families and Societies, investigating changes in family formation and structures in the broader context of societal changes, is coming to an end. AGE Platform has been part of it, focusing in particular in the research on “Intergenerational linkages in the family: the organisation of caring and financial responsibilities”.

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AGE is partner of Mobilising the Potentials of Active Ageing in Europe (MoPAct), a multidisciplinary European research project that investigates the impact of ageing in Europe. As part of its final outcomes, MoPAct has delivered a Policy Brief on the “Potentials for active ageing by social innovation in long-term care and social support”, which was presented during the final project conference in Brussels.

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On the eve of the second EU summit on digital innovation for active and healthy ageing, the i-PROGNOSIS consortium – of which AGE Platform Europe is a member – keeps working on the development of a new application through which users will contribute to improve the early detection of Parkinson’s disease.

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On 14 December 2016 the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the 'Annual Report on human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter 2015', which includes a reference to older people’s human rights. The report of the European Parliament explicitly supports our call for a better use of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA), an active involvement in the Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing of the United Nations, and a new international legal instrument that would address the particular challenges of older persons.

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