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UNECE will celebrate International day of Older Persons on 1 October with thematic panel and exhibition

UNECE will celebrate the International Day of Older Persons, on 1 October, with a panel discussion and an interactive exhibition to learn more about population ageing and find out how societies can respond to changing demographic realities and why our own good attitude towards ageing matters.


The event will be opened by UNECE Executive Secretary Christian Friis Bach. The panel discussion will take place in Salle XI from 13:00 to 14:00 and will start with a keynote address by Andreas Edel, Executive Secretary of Population Europe and one of the creators of the exhibition. Alana Officer (Ageing and Life Course, WHO), Xenia Scheil-Adlung (Social Protection Department, ILO) and Silvia Perel-Levin (NGO Committee on Ageing, Geneva) will join UNECE at this panel discussion moderated by Alanna Armitage (Geneva office of UNFPA).


Subsequent to the panel discussion, the interactive exhibition “How to get to 100 - and enjoy it!” will be opened. The exhibition, available in English, French and German, will be shown in the Salle des Pas Perdus until 8 October.


Using the latest tablet-technology this exhibition will take you on an entertaining tour through your future in an ageing society. Transformed into computer-games, quizzes, photos, interviews and easy to understand graphs and texts, the latest research results will be ready for you at your fingertip. You will be able to take a look at yourself at old age, play the computer game “Pac-Man” and gain “lives” for a healthy life-style and discover the secrets of longevity. The exhibition will help to understand that demographic change does not only concern the older people but will have a profound effect on everyone’s life as social realities transform.


These are some of the numerous events around the world celebrating the 25th International Day of Older Persons, dedicated this year to sustainability and age-inclusiveness in the urban environment. Older people represent a large and increasing share of the population, so their needs and abilities and the degree of inclusion and well-being they enjoy have an effect on societies as a whole. Finding ways to address the challenges of ageing societies is thus a key factor for present and future social and economic well-being and as such one of the areas of work of UNECE. Ensuring social justice and equal opportunities for all is also at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals. These can only be achieved if vulnerable groups such as older people are addressed and included in all progresses made. UNECE works toward this goal by assisting its member States to adjust their policy framework to new demographic realities, making sure that the needs of older generations are considered in policymaking.


For further information and if you need help getting access to the Palais des Nations, please contact: [email protected]

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