Well I guess if they international day of the child women etc why not for oldies but goodies. What strikes me is that the age at which various organisations define older seems to yo yo. For pensions its going up , for statistics its going down So now you can be "older" from 45 -67"
However demographic ageing is accelerating in the European Union, and with it the pressure on policymakers to promote social inclusion of the older population. To day Euro Found is putting forward arguments for encouraging volunteering by older people as a way to stay young while promoting a more inclusive society.
According to Eurofound’s working paper on social inclusion and the elderly, the active population in the European Union will start to shrink from 2013, and the number of elderly people aged 65–79 years will increase by more than a third (37.4%) by 2030. With life expectancy increasing all the time, European Member States are witnessing an ever-rising number of those aged 80 years or above: an increase of 57.1% between 2010 and 2030.
There are, however, large differences in how the elderly – those aged 55 and above – are excluded from society. The elderly in the Nordic countries and in the Netherlands are the least excluded from society, according to Eurofound’s research. Continental Europe and Anglo-Saxon countries follow, and then the Mediterranean countries. In Eastern Europe, the social exclusion of older people is most pronounced, especially in the Baltic States and Poland. The Czech Republic and Slovenia, on the other hand, have similar figures to Spain and Italy.
In searching for measures to promote the social inclusion of the older population, EU policies give special attention to encouraging volunteering. In the context of the European Year of Volunteering in 2011, the EU wants to ‘create the conditions for civil society conducive to volunteering in the EU and to increase the visibility of voluntary activities’.
Analysing the relationship between social inclusion and volunteering among older people, Eurofound’s working paper shows that volunteering can in fact be a suitable measure to reduce the risk of or prevent social exclusion.
For older people exposed to the main risk factors such as old age, health restrictions or isolation, volunteering can lead not only to involvement in activities but also to a better integration and inclusion into society.
However with the way cash flow for the over 50s is heading most will be working until they drop!
6 comments:
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/areas/populationandsociety/intdayolder2010.htm
Heres the link to the paper
Will read the paper over the weekend. I'm fascinated by the national/ cultural discrepancies.
Also depressed to realise that I'm bang in the middle of the demographic for "older", but I confess that I don't feel even slightly excluded. Is is an education / employment / state of mind thing?
Mad x
Isn't it about as old as you feel - I veer from 25-95 depending on the day lol
I think if you are retired and need something to do volunteering is good,it keeps your mind occupied.
Well, I think that volunteering is a good way to keep active. However, some of us oldies do need to earn a crust! It is good that we have more choice to stay on at work but only if we feel fit and able and really want to do it.
Maggie X
Nuts in May
It's also World Vegetarian day as well.
Theirs one old man I know will enjoy it when i tell him that oldies and veggies day is the same one. He's a veggie.
The best way to 'keep active' in my book is to keep on producing stuff that people want to buy, and the economy needs people to spend money - so this is a happy circle of sorts. Work, rest, and spend! Especially as we are in the middle of a 'job-recession'.
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