Birgit Meinhard-Schiebel, from Carers’ Organisation Austria participated in the UNECE NGO Forum on Ageing, held on 20 September 2017, in Lisbon, Portugal. The Forum preceded the UNECE Ministerial Conference on Ageing (21-22 September 2017).
About the UNECE NGO Forum on Ageing
The objective of the NGO Forum is to foster a dialogue in and among civil society organisations representing older persons and dealing with ageing issues around the 3 themes of the UNECE Ministerial Conference on Ageing 2017 from different angles of concern of civil society actors, to identify strong and weak aspects in the MIPAA implementation and Ministerial Declaration, and to formulate demands and recommendations on behalf of civil society organisations.
About the UNECE Ministerial Conference on Ageing
The conference completes the third review and appraisal cycle (2012-2017) of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing and its Regional Implementation Strategy (MIPAA/RIS). The focus is on ‘Realizing the potential of living longer’. Conference panels addressed this theme through the lens of:
- Recognizing the potential of older persons
- Encouraging longer working life and ability to work
- Ensuring ageing with dignity
The Ministerial Conference on Ageing is organized by UNECE in cooperation with the Government of Portugal, under the coordination of the Ministry of Labour, Solidarity, and Social Security.
Background (FRE)
In 1982, the First World Assembly on Ageing took place in Vienna (Austria). Twenty years later, in April 2002, the Second World Assembly adopted the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA), a global normative frame for responding to the opportunities and challenges of population ageing. The same year in September, the UNECE member States took a step further and at the Berlin Conference endorsed the Regional Implementation Strategy (RIS) for the MIPAA that included a set of measures and actions grouped under ten commitments.
At the onset of the MIPAA, it was agreed to carry out a review and appraisal of its implementation every five years at both regional and global levels. In 2007, the UNECE Ministerial Conference in León (Spain) concluded the review and appraisal of the first five-year cycle of the MIPAA/RIS and in its Ministerial Declaration re-endorsed the ten commitments of the RIS.
In 2012, the UNECE Ministerial Conference in Vienna completed the second review and appraisal exercise at the regional level. The Vienna Ministerial Declaration with its four goals endorsed the concept of active ageing. The third review and appraisal exercise commenced in 2016 with countries preparing their national reports and was completed with the UNECE Ministerial Conference in September 2017 in Lisbon, Portugal.
Access the UNECE Policy Brief on Ageing here .
