4 October 2019
The International Forum “Decent Longevity: Equal Opportunities for All Generations” was held on October 1 and 2, 2019 in Minsk. It was attended by representatives of state bodies, public organizations, educational institutions, scientific organizations, business, experts and active senior citizens from Belarus, Germany, Austria, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Israel, Estonia. The forum was dedicated to the International Day of Older Persons.
The Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection Alexander Rumak addressed the Forum with a welcoming speech. According to him, Belarus has a legislative base that defines the state policy regarding older people, and the aging of the population must be taken into account when making decisions in all spheres of life and at all levels of government. At the same time, it is necessary to form a new understanding of the image and role of senior citizens to create a society for all ages. Today every fifth resident of the Republic of Belarus is an elderly person, by 2030 every fourth Belarusian will be elderly (27%).
Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecki, UN Resident Coordinator in Belarus stressed at the opening of the Forum: “Today we live on average 34 years longer than our great-grandfathers. Think about it: another whole adult life has been added to our life! People can enjoy longevity only if they have good health, so today, I hope, at our event we will discuss issues of investing in health, in creating the value of a healthy lifestyle for young and elderly people”.
The Forum discussed key topics related to the lives of older people: ensuring their rights, the concept of a roadmap to ensure that aging is fully addressed in Belarus, demographic aging, international experience in ensuring the rights of older people, innovative practices in the field of decent longevity, the results of research on needs of elderly people and the possibilities of their satisfaction, the image of an elderly person and the attitude towards them in society.
The Forum presented the draft National Strategy of the Republic of Belarus “Decent Longevity – 2030”. This document was developed at the initiative of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection in conjunction with republican government bodies, representatives of the academic and civil society, and determines the priority directions of state policy, taking into account demographic trends and risks associated with an aging population and is aimed at the entire population of the country.
SITE MAP
