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Voluntary action by older persons
By: United Nations "Older
persons should be able to seek and develop opportunities for service to
the community and to serve as volunteers in positions appropriate to their
interests and capabilities." For older
people the ageing process is generally accompanied by a transition in
social and economic roles. In some societies, people move from full-time,
formal work to retirement, in others into part-time work of an informal
nature. This transition is often treated, erroneously, as a move from a
productive role to a non-productive or dependent one. Most older people,
far from withdrawing from participation in society, continue to contribute
actively to their household, to their descendants and to their community
or society although this contribution may not necessarily be measurable in
monetary terms. Rather than producing goods and services, contributions
may include a socially valued product like counselling, mentoring,
child-care, peer care, end-of-life care or community leadership, political
involvement or role model figures. Such non-monetary endeavours may have
high economic and human benefits, but they generally go unrecognized. The term
"Productive Ageing" means a continuation of peoples' economic
role but a change in its nature. Retirement and volunteering in old age
goes far beyond productive ageing, as the 'product' is not material but
more a contribution to the expertise of life transmitted to other
generations. Most literature on ageing refers only cursorily to the
changing ways older people engage actively in society and rarely
emphasizes the wealth of knowledge, experience and wisdom that is
available and serves as role model for future generations. This gap in
knowledge has serious implications for the development of public policy
aimed at the encouraging the fullest participation of older people in
society. There are at
least two facets to the case in favour of considering the contribution of
older people to society through voluntary action. The traditional one, the
assets approach, focuses on the notion that older people, as the most
rapidly growing segment of the population in many parts of the world,
constitute a major resource to be tapped into. Not only do older people
fill gaps that the State and the Market are unable or unwilling to fill,
but also many organizations could not function without the active
involvement of older people with their expertise, networks, and knowledge.
In many developing regions, older people play a pivotal role, not only in
households but also, and more so, at the community level. Traditional
cultures have preserved the important role of elders; they are looked up
to for decisions, counselling, and wisdom. Modern society seems to have
forgotten the dimension of accumulated experience and knowledge in the
name of 'high tech', youth celebration, and materially-focussed
recognition criteria. The dearth of information on this contribution has
fuelled the stereotyping of older people as unproductive, dependent and
subject to irreversible decline. This myth needs to be broken, as older
persons today are active, healthy, and independent for many more years
than at any time before. The notion of
the value of contributions of older people has been complemented in recent
years by a benefit approach which views voluntary action as a means of
combating marginalization, helping older people to retain self-respect and
a sense of purpose, and contributing to healthy life styles and
independence. It also helps society as a whole to be cohesive and
respectful towards the human dimension and the last period of life,
including death. This line of thinking was given significant impetus by a
landmark statement on volunteering in the outcome document of the June
2000 special session of the UN General Assembly on the implementation of
the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development and Beyond. The underlying
concept is that all voluntary action is based on reciprocity, immediate,
or delayed. Young people who volunteer are more employable, working adults
gain status in the community through voluntary action, while the link
between volunteering and longevity for older people is now being
empirically demonstrated. The elders live longer, age longer, are in
better health, and are more educated than ever. In many situations, people
who are able to help others can expect favourable consideration if and
when they find themselves in need of support. The "insurance"
aspect of volunteering is particularly prevalent in developing countries
where voluntary action most often takes the form of mutual aid and self
help. Seen in this light, voluntary action becomes a first line of defence
against poverty and vulnerability, not only enhancing older peoples'
possibilities of managing their risks and promoting their development
capacities, but also playing a role in terms of their impact on future
generations. From this point of view, the implications of the exclusion of
older people, and the poorer segments of older people in particular,
becomes more apparent. Today, four to five generations live at the same
time, with two generations at retirement age. This is an unprecedented
change in history, and gives a new meaning to volunteering between
generations. The feminization of ageing, with a majority of women in old
age, also brings a new aspect: older women who have been natural and
unrecognized volunteers in their family and community throughout their
life are very active in old age, but are not recognized, promoted or
networked efficiently. There are many
barriers confronting older people who wish to volunteer. In the context of
formal service volunteering, they often encounter discrimination in the
form of 'ageism', and general prejudice on the part of potential user
organizations, which limits them to working with other older people or
restricting their involvement completely. They are also challenged by
restricted access to information about opportunities to volunteer and
difficulties of physical access to such opportunities due to economic and
other factors. Moreover, because of the perception of older people as
passive receivers of assistance rather than solvers of their own and
community problems, resources are rarely channelled to initiatives
initiated or run by them. The potential payback that can flow from
providing social infrastructure and finance for mutual support and other
schemes which permit older people to join forces, to plan collectively,
with and for other generations, and to link up with external agencies
(including for the purpose of seeking employment possibilities or credit),
is only starting to be recognized. The 39th
session of the Commission for Social Development (CSD) in February 2001
and the 56th session of the UN General Assembly in December 2001 both
considered the various ways governments and the UN system can support
volunteering. During both general debates, a number of governments drew
attention to the need to reflect the concerns of older people and the
contributions they make to society through voluntary action. The need for
the issue to figure more prominently in the World Assembly on Ageing was
also raised. The General Assembly resolution on volunteering adopted at
the 56th session underlined the need to consider that all means should be
available for older persons to become involved in voluntary activities. The challenge
of giving explicit economic, social and moral value to older peoples'
contributions to their communities and nations needs to be addressed. Only
in this way will governments and other development actors be in a position
to make the correct choices in their strategies to combat poverty and,
exclusion, conflict, and discrimination, and if policy is to be inclusive
in preserving a society for all ages and generations. Through volunteering
and social contacts, older people also stay more active and healthy
physically, mentally, socially and spiritually which can only benefit
society as a whole. Their contribution goes far beyond a social role-they
can be the future promoters of key UN issues such as human rights,
environment protection, health, and peace. By installing a
"memory" of hatred or peace to their descendants, they can be a
powerful influence over the way conflict is seen by their family, their
society, and their nations. The Second World Assembly for Ageing provides an excellent opportunity to highlight the reciprocal benefits to older persons that accrue from voluntary action and to consider ways of ensuring an enabling environment for older persons to remain active through this form of citizen engagement.
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