At the invitation of the Government of Germany, a regional Ministerial Conference on Ageing was held in Berlin, between 11 and 13 September 2002. The Conference was organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. It considered and adopted a Ministerial Declaration and a Regional Implementation Strategy for the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing 2002 (see Second World Assembly on Ageing, Madrid, April 2002).
The International Plan of Action on Ageing adopted by the first World Assembly on Ageing in Vienna, Austria (1982) and endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution 37/51 of 3 December 1982, was a corner-stone in recognizing ageing as one of the salient social, economic and demographic phenomena of our times. Although in many respects that was a pioneering document, the twenty years that have passed since its adoption faced the world with many new challenges. Recognizing that, the international community held a Second World Assembly on Ageing, in Madrid, Spain form 8 to 12 April 2002. It was devoted to an overall review of the outcome of the first World Assembly and aimed to advance the global ageing agenda beyond the 1982 Plan of Action, and to provide a blueprint for responding to the opportunities and challenges of population ageing in the 21st century and for the promotion of the concept of a "society for all ages". The Assembly adopted two main outcome documents -- a Political Declaration and the Madrid International Plan of Action, 2002, which commit governments to act to meet the challenge of ageing. The Madrid International Plan of Action includes policy recommendations, covering three main priority directions: older persons and development, advancing health and well-being into old age, and ensuring enabling and supportive environments. (For more information on the Second World Assembly on Ageing, please visit the www site of the UN Programme on Ageing).
For more information on the follow-up to the UNECE Ministerial Conference on Ageing, click on the"FOLLOW-UP" button in the menu frame. This web site also offers you one-click access to various international documents relevant to the preparatory work for the Conference. To access them, please follow this link, or click on the "Reference library" button in the menu frame. To consult the documents adopted by the Conference, follow this link or click on "Documents" in the menu frame.