Using the right tool to adequately monitor the impact of a wide range of policies is necessary to manage population ageing. This is the purpose of the Active Ageing Index (AAI) which measures the extent to which older people can realise their full potential in terms of employment, participation in social and cultural life and independent living, as well as the extent to which the environment they live in enables seniors to lead an active life.
The overall goal of the Active Ageing Index project – run jointly by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) – is to identify areas in which different policies and programmes can promote older people’s contribution and develop their full potential, thereby contributing to improving the future sustainability of welfare systems and their own well-being. The index offers a framework that can be used by policymakers and stakeholders to identify challenges and opportunities and to set targets for improvements, based on international comparisons and experiences.
A report has just been issued which compiles the work of the Active Ageing Index project. It arises from the work undertaken during the 2012 European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations by the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research in Vienna. As part of its conclusions, the report highlights the important role of the regional and local level, whose policies impact many aspects of active ageing. The effectiveness of the AAI depends to a large extent on its adoption by local and regional policymakers and stakeholders and an important next step could be to use the AAI framework for comparing individual regions within countries (as is being done in Poland, Spain and Italy).
Download the Active Ageing Index 2014 Analytical Report
Access the Active Ageing Index here: https://www1.unece.org/stat/platform/display/AAI/Active+Ageing+Index+Home
This report will be presented at an international seminar entitled “Building an evidence base for active ageing policies: Active Ageing Index and its potential” organised by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the European Commission’s Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL) on 16-17 April in Brussels in which AGE Secretary-General, Anne-Sophie Parent, has been invited as a speaker.
