Looking at the von der Leyen Commission from an older people’s perspective
von der Leyen Commission 2019-2024 On 27 November 2019 the European Parliament finally approved the new European Commission with 461 votes in favour, 157 against and 89 abstentions. The day after the European Council officially appointed von der Leyen’s team for 5 years. Many articles have been published on the nomination of Ursula von der […]
Balancing social, environmental and economic concerns: EU Finnish Presidency proposes a new approach for the upcoming decade
photo by Martti Kainulainen, STT-Lehtikuva, EU Finnish Presidency conference The current social, economic and environmental challenges require Europe to reinforce its founding values and put the social and green dimensions at the core of the European social model. A key achievement of the Finnish EU Presidency, which started in July and will end in December […]
I’m ageing, just like you: How to ensure equality at all ages?
Being treated equally is fundamental for everyone to feel worthy and contribute to society. Even though we are all ageing, we are not all receiving the same protection of our rights. This October, our #AgeingEqual campaign called for change. For the 1st October, International Day of Older Persons, the United Nations picked the theme of […]
New European Commission: towards a more age-friendly EU?
After the nomination by the European Council and the approval of the European Parliament, Dr Ursula von der Leyen, previously a member of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in the German Federal Government as Minister of Defence, has been elected President of the European Commission to succeed Jean-Claude Juncker as of 1 November 2019. […]
Equality & participation in older age: AGE Annual Conference looks at the role of social protection and education
‘As I grow older, perceptions of me in society are changing. And I’ve had to confront my own ageist perceptions of myself and my future’. This is how Michael O’Flaherty, Director of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, who had just turned 60, set the scene at AGE Annual Conference on 13 June in Brussels. […]
European citizens have elected their new Parliament. What comes next for older persons?
photo by Elliott Stallion on Unsplash The campaign’s dust of the European election is just settling and voters have decided who will represent them for the five years to come in the Strasbourg and Brussels hemicycles. This time, more than 50% of EU citizens eligible to vote took part in the elections, the highest turnout […]
Final stretch before the polls: Where are we with the European elections?
Ageist attitudes hit the European elections debates in several EU member states where national leaders and MEP candidates themselves mock their adversaries as ‘dinosaurs’, or have diplomatically called for a ‘generational change’ in Brussels. At AGE, we believe it is rather a new intergenerational solidarity contract that we must work on. Two weeks ahead of […]
Talking to this 54 year-younger lad, and what might follow next
Photo from Unsplash “What would I, a 74-year old bloke, have to do with this youngster?” one might respond when asked about teaming up with younger people to call on MEP candidates with joint requests. Age is one of the many criteria that we use to identify ourselves and pick those that we consider as […]
Healthy ageing: the double burden faced by older women
The International Women’s Day is key to AGE as it is the opportunity to put additional focus on the issues faced by women in older age. According to research, ageism may now be even more pervasive than sexism. The consequences for individuals that are subject to both types of discrimination are thus tremendous. For 2019, […]
The European Parliament elections 2019: an opportunity we cannot miss!
Here comes a major occasion to both reshape the European Union to bring it closer to its citizens – of all ages – and silence the ageist misconceptions picturing older adults as not forward looking. As a civil society network, AGE will strive for older citizens to be heard during the coming campaign and will […]
Making 2019 a key milestone towards a Europe for all ages
2018 was special in many respects. The 70th anniversary of the Human Rights Declaration in December offered a unique momentum for AGE to draw attention to ageism and its negative and multifold impacts on the enjoyment of our human rights in older age. Our work reached its climax with our 70-day #AgeingEqual campaign, the first […]
After 70 years of human rights, what’s next?
The image of a “silver tsunami” sometimes used to describe Europe’s ageing demographics was certainly not framing the debate in a positive way. The image yet has the advantage to grasp the power of communities when those reach a critical mass. What would happen if these silver hairs were actually gathering to reframe the public […]
Looking into a first month of campaigning for ageing with equal rights
Campaigning is an ever challenging activity. It implies engaging with those who are not yet aware, are not convinced or do not feel concerned. It means going beyond the circles of friends, partners and supporters to raise in the wider public sphere a debate that will hopefully bring some change on what used to be […]
AGE launches human rights campaign against ageism
Between 1st October 2018, the International Day of Older Persons and 10th December 2018, the International Human Rights Day, AGE Platform Europe is launching a 70-day campaign against ageism with the support of partner organisations. This campaign seeks to increase awareness and understanding of the prevalence and negative impact of ageism and of the importance […]
AGE and its members bring the voices of older persons in the UN Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing
AGE and a strong delegation of our member organisations took part in the 9th session of the United Nations Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing in New York from 23 to 26 July 2018. The meetings brought together UN Member States, civil society and national human rights institutions to examine how to enhance the enjoyment of […]
Fundamental Rights Report 2018 calls for a rights-based approach to ageing
The European Union is founded on the universal values of human dignity, freedom, equality and solidarity. To reflect those common values, Europeans’ civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights are enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Those rights are understood as inalienable rights to which a person is inherently entitled as human being, […]
Supporting older persons’ right to self-determination – AGE Annual Conference 2018
How to ensure older persons’ right to autonomy and self-determination? How can we support older persons with care needs to live in dignity? Those were the two main questions discussed at our 2018 Annual Conference held in Brussels on 6 June. Gathering AGE members’ representatives and other civil society delegates, researchers and policy makers. The […]
AGE joint seminar finds important gaps in the protection of older persons’ human rights
Identifying the barriers that prevent older persons from fully enjoying their human rights and how to overcome them was the objective of a seminar organised jointly by AGE and the United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) for the European region. Organised on 12 and 13 April 2018 at AGE’s premises in Brussel, the seminar brought […]
