“The Contribution of Older People”

By Rachel Buchanan, AGE – the European Older People’s Platform

Europe

September 13, 2006

Mister (or Madam) Chair, members of the panel, dear colleagues,

I am pleased to have this opportunity to speak to you today about the important contribution that older people can make to our society, both today and in the years to come. To paraphrase the conference title, the situation of older people presents both a challenge and an opportunity.

In the context of the demographic change facing Europe’s societies, this is a real and pertinent matter.

I will first, briefly, outline what AGE is. I will then expand on why the contribution of older people to society is so important before elaborating on the essential contribution that older people have to make. I will then conclude that the challenge and opportunity presented by the ageing of Europe’s populations serves to enrich society.

1) First : who and what is AGE?

AGE - the European Older People's Platform, aims to voice and promote the interests of older people in the European Union and to raise awareness of the issues that concern them most. Everyone in the European Union is increasingly affected by decisions taken by its institutions: the Council of Ministers, the Commission, the European Parliament and the Court of Justice. Decisions affect the daily lives of all its inhabitants - including older people.

AGE is involved in a range of policy and information activities to put older people's issues on the EU agenda and to support networking among older people's groups. Among our guiding principles is that a change of attitudes is needed to achieve a society for all ages, seeking solidarity between generations in a way that recognises older people's contributions to society. AGE is committed to combating all forms of age discrimination in all areas of life and aims to monitor and influence the implementation of the various EU initiatives in this area.

AGE was set up in January 2001 following a process of discussion on how to improve and strengthen co-operation between older people's organisations at EU level. Membership of AGE is open to European, national and regional organisations, and to both organisations of older people and organisations for older people.

Organisations of older people have the majority of votes in AGE's decision-making bodies. Membership is open only to non-profit-making organizations. AGE is co-financed by its members and by the European Commission.

AGE thus works at European level to raise awareness of the opportunities and challenges that arise from the ageing of our society, to shape appropriate policy responses and to promote the interests and involvement of the older citizens of Europe.

AGE’s aim above all is to achieve an inclusive and age friendly society where the needs of the fastest growing group of citizens, the older citizens, are taken on board.

2) Why is the contribution of this group of citizens so important?

Older people are a large and growing section of the population of the 25 current Member States of the European Union.

However, the context of demographic ageing often gives rise to a negative narrative about older people being a growing burden to society. The notion of a demographic time-bomb is regularly heard and it is common for commentary on ageing to focus negatively on the challenges this poses to the age structure of the labour force, to old age dependency ratios and to the high costs of pensions and health care provision.

Such negative perceptions fail to acknowledge the enormous cultural, social and professional resource represented by older people. Their ongoing contribution to society, often in an unpaid capacity, is too often overlooked and should be recognised. Their potential for wider involvement and contribution is left unexplored because of limited opportunities being made available to older people by (unimaginative) policy makers relying on easy stereotypes and pre-conceptions. Often the attempts of individual older people to broaden their contributions to society are frustrated because of widespread direct or indirect discrimination.

It should be recognised that our ageing populations are a testament to the significant economic developments and the immense social advances that have been made in organising our societies and in enhancing health over past decades. Childhood morbidity has been largely overcome in Europe and longevity grows year on year. Ageing is changing our societies in important ways and it demands a comprehensive assessment and a reworking of our economic and social policy framework. Policy developments in very diverse areas such as employment, pensions, social inclusion, health, transport, urban development, housing, research, education and citizenship need to be better co-ordinated, to develop an accurate understanding of what demographic change means in order to support the right policy response.

There are without doubt challenges which must be identified and addressed, but ageing also presents huge opportunities which should be grasped. Policy developments should not imply any lessening of the enduring rights of individual members of society. If Europe is to become a society for all ages, a change of attitudes is required to ensure that older people’s rights are not only not denied but that they are also enhanced.

3) I will now expand on what ways older people can contribute

Across Europe, older people are crucial to the cohesion of communities. They often form the core of people performing civic functions and putting themselves forward for low paid roles as local councillors, magistrates and similar functions, representing and serving their communities. Many voluntary and community organisations rely on older people for their volunteer workforce as younger people work to support themselves and their families. In addition, there is increasing evidence that older people play a crucial role in establishing social initiatives and performing informal care for family members.

Yet, age limits (or the very limited availability of insurance for older volunteers), restrict the ability of older people to perform these roles, preventing them from engaging in such service and excluding them from activities which also provide them with satisfaction and self-esteem.

A further area is the labour market. The number of young adults (25-39 years old) began to fall in 2005 and will continue to decline over the next 50 years. In contrast, the number of people aged 55 and over began to grow in 2005 and demographic projections forecast that this will continue to rise. The potential labour market is therefore set to age and employers will have to recruit from an older pool of workers and will hence need to retain and develop skills in their existing workforce.

It is thus important to raise the employment rate of older workers through skills development and to promote a positive approach among employers as well as to reduce attitudinal barriers to employment such as discrimination and to remove policies such as mandatory retirement ages which can lead to the forced exclusion of older workers.

What then can be concluded?

4) Conclusion

In view of the existing demographic reality, where absolute numbers of older people are increasing and their lives are more diverse, the use of chronological age has become a poor proxy for determining people’s health, prosperity, social status, aspiration or capacity to be active within their communities or on the labour market.

Demographic ageing implies a fundamental shift in our approach to age, and our policy and cultural frameworks need to be adapted in response.

AGE believes that in the context of subsidiarity there is a clear role for the EU Institutions and the Council of Europe to enhance the conditions which will best utilise the asset that older people present. Addressing effectively the discrimination that older people face will require co-ordinated action as well as attitudal change, but its outcome will benefit both those individuals who face discrimination and society as a whole.