Productive ageing: voluntary action by older
people
By: United Nations
March 2002
"Trees grow stronger over the years, rivers
wider. Likewise, with age, human beings gain immeasurable depth and
breadth of experience and wisdom. That is why older persons should be not
only respected and revered; they should be utilized as the rich resource
to society that they are."
-United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan
The "grey cloud" on the horizon today - the
rapidly ageing population feared by the doom-and-gloom crowd - has several
silver linings that have too long gone unnoticed, under-appreciated and
under-utilized. One of these is the contribution of voluntary work by
older persons, those who choose and who are able to remain active and
productive members of society. Volunteering by older persons is a singular
and particularly valuable mode of "productive ageing", because
their contribution is the gift of life experience, skill, wisdom and human
warmth to other generations.
Uncounted contributions
There is a great deal of literature on the subject of
ageing, but much of it does a disservice to older persons and to their
societies: it neglects, or addresses only in passing, the changing ways
that older people engage in society. Short shrift is given to the wealth
of knowledge, expertise, skill and wisdom that is available to educate and
inform younger generations. And this lack of attention does nothing to
support the development of public policies that would encourage and
facilitate the fullest participation of older people in society.
The traditional way of viewing the contribution of
older people to society through their voluntary action is that, because
older people are the most rapidly growing segment of the population in
many parts of the world, they constitute a major resource waiting to be
tapped. Indeed, older people fill gaps that the state and the market are
unable or unwilling to fill; and they provide precious expertise, networks
and knowledge to many organizations that otherwise could not function so
well. Let us not forget the volunteers who didn't volunteer; who, because
of unexpected illness and death - perhaps from HIV/AIDS - were thrust into
the role of unpaid caregivers and find themselves giving again, at time of
life when they may have expected to be receiving care and support, or just
enjoying their later years.
Many traditional cultures still regard their elders
as authoritative decision-makers and a valuable source of counselling and
wisdom. But much of modern society, enamoured with the beauty of youth,
the flash of high tech, and material recognition and gain, seems to have
forgotten the value of the dimension of accumulated experience and
knowledge. Today, the pervasive lack of accurate information on their
contribution fuels the stereotyping of older people, as unproductive,
dependent and subject to irreversible decline. It is time to shatter this
myth.
There is an additional way of viewing the
contribution of voluntary action by older people - in terms of the
benefits to themselves. Voluntary work is a valuable, productive way for
older people to stay engaged with society, to use their expertise and to
maintain and nourish their sense of purpose, their innate value, and their
self-respect. Such involvement and self-value naturally results in more
independence, health and well-being for older people.
Giving a little, getting a little
An important concept of all voluntary work is that it
is reciprocal: you give something, and you get something back - often in
addition to the self-satisfaction and pleasure to be had. Young people who
volunteer gain because they become more employable. Working adults who
volunteer gain status in their communities. And older people who volunteer
gain healthy years of life, as has been amply demonstrated: older people
who stay actively engaged live longer and live better; their lives are
healthier than ever before, and they are more often than not more
knowledgeable. Orphaned or abandoned children that benefit from human
warmth received from older volunteers - when there are far too few younger
hands available - are children who are much more likely to give back to
society in their time.
Voluntary work as "social security"
insurance
People who freely help others in need more often than
not receive help when they themselves are in need. In many developing
countries, the practice of voluntary work as insurance is widespread - in
the form of mutual aid and self-help. It can be thought of as a
"deposit" in a "social security" system, one that will
pay out as a first line of defence against poverty and vulnerability.
Older people, investing their own work voluntarily, are managing their
future risk and, at the same time, promoting their own development.
Today, it is normal for four to five generations to
co-exist, with two of those generations at or beyond retirement age. This
situation, typical of today's ageing world, is unprecedented in human
history. It is a valuable opportunity for volunteer work between and among
generations to give to societies, and it is an opportunity to recognize
the lifelong volunteer work given by women to their families and
communities, which so far has not been recognized.
Very often when older people wish to volunteer, they
face barriers and obstacles that prevent them from doing so. In formal
service volunteering, they may encounter "ageism" and prejudice
on the part of organizations, who may limit them to working with other
older persons or who may completely restrict their involvement. Older
people are also hampered by a lack of information about opportunities to
volunteer, and difficulties in physical access to such opportunities, due
to economic and other factors. Thus, society deprives itself of a needed
and useful contribution.
Older volunteers - the solution, not the problem
A basic shift in society's perception of older people
is long overdue. They are too often mistakenly seen as needing help
themselves rather than as potential problem solvers of both their own
problems and problems in the community. Resources are often not channelled
to them, or to initiatives run by them. Much could be gained by simply
providing them with a social infrastructure and some finance for mutual
support activities or for any other activities that would allow them to
join forces, to plan collectively with other generations, and to link up
with external agencies - including for seeking employment or credit.
Global recognition
In 2000, the United Nations Commission for Social
Development considered various ways in which governments and the United
Nations could support volunteering. Several governments stressed the need
to reflect the concerns of older people and their contribution to society
through voluntary action, and asked that the issue figure more prominently
in the Second World Assembly on Ageing.
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"For far too long we
have been obsessed with paid work - assuming that the money changing
hands made it far more important... Of course it isn't like that
anymore. People of all ages and social class are giving their time.
Some of them even have fun. And the old narrow definition of work is
blurring more every year "
- Anita Roddick
The Body Shop
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The potential contribution of older people reaches
far beyond a social role: they can be the promoters of key United Nations
goals such as human rights, environment protection, health and peace. They
can instil either hatred or peace in their descendants, and thus exert a
powerful influence over the way conflict is seen by their family, their
society and their nation.
Taken together, the discussions on volunteering that
will take place at the World Assembly will provide an excellent
opportunity for giving greater attention to the subject.
This article was based on information provided by
UN Volunteers.
For additional information, please contact:
Robert Leigh, Chief
UNV Representation Office in North
America
(212) 906-3638; Fax: (212) 906-3659;
e-mail: Robert.leigh@undp.org
or
UN Department of Public Information
Tel: (212) 963-0499
E-mail: mediainfo@un.org
Published by the United Nations Department of Public
Information
 DPI/2264
March
2002
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