Grandparents: an invisible factor
UNECE panel discussion on "the social
and economic implications of ageing
in Europe and North America"
One of the events of the Second World Assembly on Ageing currently held in
Madrid, Spain, from 8 to 12 April 2002, was the panel discussion on "the
social and economic implications of ageing in Europe and North America"
organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
Mr. Paolo Garonna, Deputy Executive Secretary of the UNECE, in opening the
discussion emphasized the importance to focus on Europe and North America's
experience as other regions of the world may face similar trends in the coming
years. Over the last decade this region has witnessed an acceleration of the
economic and social reforms in response to the pressures coming from ageing
populations. "There is not a single field of policies, or aspects of
life, that has not been affected - not only pension and health systems, but
also employment and educational policies, social protection mechanisms, the
balance between leisure and work, as well as the family structures, the social
dialogue and the political process" stated Mr. Garonna.
Mr. Herbert Haupt, Federal Minister of Social Security and Generations of
Austria, underlined in his intervention that in pursuing policies on active
ageing there was a need to broaden the standard concept of work and include
volunteer work, for example care provision for children and other dependent
persons. He also cited recent experience in his country with Internet Cafes,
sponsored by the government, where the young and the old learn together and
communicate, as an example of bridging the generational digital divide, by
fostering grandparents-grandchildren relations.
Dr. Antoine Mifsud Bonici, Parliamentary Secretary of Malta's Ministry for
Social Policy, emphasised that within the broad policy framework, all countries
have their own institutional and cultural specificities. For example in Malta
priority has been given to the provision of community services, a strong role
of the family and other informal networks, as well as the experimentation
with new forms of public/private partnerships. Mr. Miodrag Kovac, Yugoslavia's
Federal Secretary for Labour, Health and Social Protection, stated that policies
on ageing are a fundamental component of institutional capacity building and
social cohesion in a society that has been hit by civil strife and instability,
which have particularly affected older persons.
Antonio Golini, Professor of Demography, Rome University, spoke about the
increasing number of "only-children" in the Italian society, with
the well-known psychological and developmental implications that this status
implies. "Brothers, sisters and cousins are almost disappearing, depriving
our world of a rich and valuable human dimension". Therefore, "the
only-child syndrome of today is much more serious than in the past. The only
child has over him/her not only parents (plus possibly stepparents), but also
grand-grandparents." "It is an inverted pyramid of family relations
whose consequences for child development, education, social relations are
difficult to predict."
The issue of intergenerational relations was addressed also by Mrs. Vappu
Taipale, Director-General of Finland's National Research and Development Centre
for Welfare and Health. She drew the attention of the participants to the
fact that while the importance of the caring role of grandparents in support
of children's education and upbringing is well-known, the actual identification
and measurement of this contribution in our economies and societies is lacking.
"Grandparents are an invisible factor of economic and social development,
which implies that they are not recognised and supported in performing this
fundamental role."
Mr. Christoph Linzbach, Chair of the Intergovernmental Open-Ended Working
Group, which oversees the preparatory process for the Ministerial Conference
on Ageing, and Director, International Affairs of Germany's Federal Ministry
for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, spoke about the preparations
for the Conference and about the ideas behind the drafting of the Regional
Implementation Strategy for the International Plan of Action on Ageing 2002.
He emphasised also the importance of the establishment of a solid follow-up
mechanism.
Mr. Dirk Jarré, Director, International Affairs of the German Association
for Public and Private Welfare, emphasised that the role of the civil society
in both the process leading to the Ministerial Conference and its follow-up
should not be forgotten, as NGOs, in particular, together with other social
actors have "a decisive function in responding to ageing". Mr. Jarré
concluded his intervention by calling on all stakeholders to ensure that what
comes out of the Ministerial Conference is properly implemented and monitored,
so that the Regional Implementation Strategy "does not remain just a
paper buried somewhere in a drawer", but rather turns into an effective
policy instrument that "is translated in actual realisations and concrete
outcomes".
For further information please contact:
Nikolai Botev
Population Activities Unit
Economic Analysis Division
UN Economic Commission for Europe
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Tel: (+41 22) 917 1324
Fax: (+41 22) 917 0101
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.unece.org/ead/age