Project on the status of older persons in ECE countries

The main objectives of this project were:

• to assemble a set of cross-nationally comparable micro-data samples based on the 1990-round national population and housing censuses in countries of Europe and North America,
• and to use these samples for studying the social and economic conditions of older persons.

 

Conference on the Status of the Older Population, Sion 1999

The Conference "Status of the Older Population: Prelude to the 21st Century" was held from 13 to 15 December 1999 in Sion, Switzerland. It was organized by the Population Activities Unit (PAU) of the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) in collaboration with the US National Institute on Aging (NIA), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Institut Universitaire Kurt Bosch (IKB). The conference brought together about 90 participants representing various academic institutions, international organizations, NGOs and government agencies of ECE member states. Over 40 papers covering different aspects of population ageing and the status of older persons were presented in the twelve sessions of the conference, which focused on issues ranging from the geographic distribution and redistribution of older persons, to their living arrangements and housing conditions, health status, as well as income maintenance in old age and work and retirement. Please follow the links below for more information on the conference:

Meeting Documents
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	Conference announcement
	Conference programme
	Description of sessions
	List of Participants

Workshops on issues related to population ageing

Two workshops were co-organized by the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).

• The first one, which focused on general issues of population ageing in Europe and North America (Geneva, 13-14 February 1995) was organized in the eve of the World Summit for Social Development and sent a message to it entitled "Towards a Mature Society for All Ages".
• The second workshop focused on social protection, poverty, and older persons at risk (Geneva, 6-7 November 1996). It adopted a general conceptual framework for action and identified priorities for immediate action in the field of social protection of older persons at risk.

The proceedings of both workshops are summarized in their final reports, which have been published as United Nations ECOSOC documents (respectively E/ECE/1323, dated 3 March 1995, and ECE/EAD/PAU/NONE/97/1, dated 4 February 1997).

Meetings of authors of country monographs

The authors of country monographs on the social and economic status of older persons met on 6 and 7 October 1997 in Geneva. Discussed was the progress of the work on the monographs since the last meeting. A draft version of the first completed report was distributed to the authors, and they had the opportunity to comment on it. The aim of the meeting was to allow for the last 'fine tuning' of the ideas about the contents and structure of the report before country authors who were at different stages of drafting embark on finalising the reports.

Meeting Documents
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	Agenda
	List of participants

Census microdata workshop

A workshop on using PAU's collection of census microdata samples for research on issues related to population ageing, took place on 3 and 4 October 1997 in Geneva. It was organised in collaboration with the Laboratoire de Demographie Economique et Sociale of the University of Geneva, and offered young and mid-career researchers an exposure to this collection of data sets.

Meeting Documents
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	Workshop announcement
	Workshop Agenda
	List of Participants

Survey of Ageing Research in the ECE Region

These surveys were carried out by the Population Activities Unit in collaboration with the United States National Institute on Aging. The objectives were:

• to take stock of ageing research in the ECE countries;
• to identify innovative research strategies and high-quality survey instruments that can be used throughout the region in future research;
• to find out what type of cross-national ageing research should be initiated in Europe during the coming years;

The first such survey was carried out in 1995/96.  It went through two waves. The goal of the first wave was to take stock of a wide range of ageing-related research.

1995/96 survey

It covered over 300 projects from about 150 institutions and individuals. About 50 of these projects were selected for the second wave of the survey, the goal of which was to compile more detailed information on large scale, nationally representative research efforts, particularly those involving primary data collection with high-quality survey instruments. Results of the second wave were published in a report that summarizes the survey's major findings.

Ageing Research in Europe: Demographic, Social and Behavioural Aspects By Emily Agree and George Myers 1998, vii + 90pp, UN Sales No. 98.0.1 ISBN 92-1-100762-3

If you would like to obtain a printed copy of the Directory, please contact a distributor of United Nations publications, or: Sales Section United Nations Palais des Nations CH-1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland Tel: (+ 41 22) 917 26 06 Fax: (+ 41 22) 917 00 84 E-mail: PPIGUET@UNOG.CH