Towards a society for all ages: the international year of older persons.

Towards a Society for All Ages," the theme of the 1999 International Year of Older Persons (IYOP) points to the active roles that older people should and can play in contemporary society. Populations are aging throughout the world, but the International Year focuses not so much on the demographics of aging as on the sociology of aging. Specifically, attention is being given to the societal contributions of the growing senior population. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan inaugurated the International year by stating that "a society for all ages is one that does not caricature older persons as patients and pensioners. Instead, it sees them as both agents and beneficiaries of development." He pointed out the importance of a balance between supporting dependency and investing in life-long development when planning and implementing elder care policies and programs. The focus on active aging is not meant to diminish the importance of sound income-support policies and social care programs. Rather it is meant to accentuate the importance of labor market policies and volunteer programs that provide opportunities for seniors to be both active and productive members of societies. In 1991 the United Nations General Assembly pointed toward the theme of IYOP when it adopted the United Nations Principles for Older Persons. These broad principles recognized the need for programs of care. They included the right to have access to health care and social services and to use appropriate levels of care. Yet the principles also emphasized access to appropriate education and training and the opportunity to work and make income. In addition they stated that older people should be able to seek and develop opportunities for community service and to serve as volunteers in positions appropriate to their interests and capabilities. Their focus on maintaining active social roles and remaining integrated into the society were thus principles upon which to build the theme and program for the International Year. Governments were encouraged to incorporate the Principles for Older Persons into their national programs for aging. Then in 1992 the 42nd Plenary Meeting of the United Nations issued a proclamation that established 1999 as the International Year of Older Persons. The theme "Towards a Society for All Ages" was adopted so that attention and discussion would extend beyond the challenges of population aging to the opportunities for both the self-fulfillment of older people and the societal benefits of older populations. WHY AN INTERNATIONAL YEAR FOR OLDER PEOPLE? The IYOP and its theme "Towards a Society for All Ages" have particular importance as we enter a new century and a new millennium. Demographic change is and increasingly will be a major force affecting societal stability and human welfare both nationally and globally. Populations are aging and longevity is increasing around the world. Every month 1 million people turn 60 years of age. In 2000, 10 percent of the earth's inhabitants will be over 60. Two decades later one out of three humans will be 60 or older. The 80 and older age group, not the baby boomers, is the most rapidly growing part of the population in the developed world. Two-thirds of all of earth's inhabitants who have reached 80 years of age from the creation until now are alive today. Lest one think that this is primarily a demographic trend in the developed world, developing countries will age more rapidly in the early years of the new century than developed countries have aged in the latter years of the 20th century. By 2025, 72 percent of the world's over-60 population will be in societies currently classified as developing rather than developed. Thus, the "age quake" is a global phenomenon that requires attention and action internationally as well as nationally and locally. Societies are changing, while populations are aging. The environment in which people live is being rapidly restructured because of economic technological and societal change. …