Celebrate International Day of Older Persons

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Wed 01 Oct 2014

If you haven't seen the recent film release, The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window And Disappeared , go and see it! The story brilliantly illustrates how old age and adventure can co-exist and reminds us of how much we can learn from older people in our society.

On 1 October 2014, the world will celebrate International Day of Older Persons, a special day designated by the United Nations in 1990. There are currently 600 million people aged 60 years and over and this number will double by 2025. It's estimated that older people will represent 20% of the global population by 2030.

International Day of Older Persons is an opportunity to celebrate the role played by older people in our society, including through their volunteer work, sharing of experience and knowledge, helping their families with caring responsibilities and increasing their participation in the workforce. It's a day to raise awareness about issues affecting the elderly and to ensure that society adequately addresses their needs such as having access to proper levels of support, including health, housing and pension benefits. These all need to be on the world's agenda to ensure the well-being well into the future of our older population.

The theme of this year's 24th International Day of Older Persons is "Leaving No One Behind: Promoting a Society for All". Part of this is acknowledging that demography matters for sustainable development and that population dynamics will shape the world as we continue through the 21st century.

So, on 1 October 2014, make a point of doing something for an older person that you know. Being school holidays, why not volunteer to do something special for an older person or a grandparent. Whether it's a morning tea, lunch, phone call or contributing to a charity, do something that will enrich their lives and remind them that their contribution and experience is valued by society.

After all, we'll all be part of that group some day, hopefully.

#october
#community_events
#family
#school_holidays
#seniors
#volunteering
!date 01/10/2014 -- 01/10/2014
%wnsydney