Minister of Seniors Appointment. Position Paper. Professors Emeriti Network 21.4.2021

Minister of Seniors Appointment. Position Paper. Professors Emeriti Network 21.4.2021

Professors Emeriti Network

Minister of Seniors Appointment. Position Paper.
Imenovanje ministrice/ministra seniorjev. Mnenje.
April 21, 2021

Content

Minister of Seniors Appointment. Position Paper
Signatories
Links to Publications
Links to the Ministers of (for) Seniors
Imenovanje ministrice/ministra seniorjev. Mnenje
eMeeting of Professors Emeriti Network Members 21.4.2021

Minister of Seniors Appointment. Position Paper

Minister of Seniors Appointment Position Paper Professors Emeriti Network April 21, 2021

What can we, seniors, do good for the seniors – for ourselves?

Given the growing proportion of elderly people in most countries and their increasing contribution to silver economy, it is encouraging to see that some have a government minister with responsibilities for senior citizens. Here are the links to the website of the minister of (for) seniors in Australia, Canada, Malta, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales.

Many seniors are either still employed or working by looking after others – their children, grandchildren, others in their communities – rather than being in need of help themselves. Younger generations can still learn in every field (technical, artisanal, and cognitive learning from elementary school up to university) from seniors and their knowhow should be transmitted and not dispersed. The more seniors there are, the more diverse the society. We need to recognise this to act correctly and create proper government policies. It is important for the citizens of all countries to unite, and build a stronger, more inclusive, and more resilient society. It is the responsibility of the government to engage with the citizens, civil society and stakeholders, including businesses of all sizes, organised labour, the broader public sector and not-for-profit sectors.

Why is it important to appoint a minister of seniors in every country?

The idea of having a minister of seniors is based upon the experience of several countries. It was first presented to the professors emeriti in the article All Countries Need a Minister for Seniors, by Gričar J. (p153), published in Reports from 2020 World Day of Older Persons. A Contribution of the European Association of Professors Emeriti.  The Bulletin of the European Association of Professors Emeriti. Supplement 2020; 1(S1): 113-165.

Having a minister solely responsible for seniors ensures that policies concerning health care and financial security are considered through the seniors’ eyes. The minister has to be proactive in ensuring that a broad array of voices provides him with advice from all areas and regions of the country. The minister of seniors is expected to help the government to better understand and make decisions on the needs of seniors and ensure that programs and services are developed which respond to the aging population. She/he should support other ministers on initiatives across government that impact seniors.

The minister should argue for greater security and a better quality of life for seniors and future retirees. She/he must be an “equal voice at the table” with other ministers,
speaking on behalf of seniors. Of great importance is the minister’s collaborations with the ministers of health/ work/ families and social development, on initiatives to promote active and healthy aging. This includes learning from and building on government-supported programs that have proven successful and are supporting the needs of seniors and their families, as well as actions indicated in the Decade of Healthy Aging: Baseline report. World Health Organization 2021-2030.

In order to engage with seniors, stakeholders and experts to provide advice on matters related to the health, well-being and quality of life of seniors, the government is expected to establish the national seniors council. For example, National Seniors Council, Government of Canada.

Countries need to think differently about ageing if they are to tap into the potential of the growing senior population and to offer people the best possible future. It is necessary to ensure government investments in home care, community care and palliative care for these services to be well coordinated and have the intended impacts, especially for low-income citizens.

An important area of the focus should be to make sure that if seniors want to remain in the workforce, the barriers should be removed. More work is required in collaboration with all partners to bridge the gaps between research, education and practice by fostering interactions among students, educators and community members.

Collaborative projects can establish meaningful roles for seniors in their communities by providing more connections with young people, identifying possible community programs that seniors with mild to moderate problems can take part in, and educating students to increase their knowledge and awareness of aging.

The knowledge, competences, and experience of socially and economically engaged seniors contribute more than just an intergenerational bond in the work process. The contribution of previously acquired goods, values and assets paves the way for the success of the younger generations. Cyber reality is driven by the technology of data accumulation, but life is played out in the causes and consequences of its use. Here are the valuable experiences of the seniors.

We, members of the Professors Emeriti Network, are interested in actively seizing the opportunities offered by the silver economy and reducing the problems posed by a long-lived society. In the cross-border region, we want to help by interdisciplinary eCollaboration.

We will disseminate information on the Position Paper: Minister of Seniors Appointment in our respective environment.

Signatories

Ferdinando Auricchio, Professor Emeritus, Endocrinology
University of Campania, Italy
Ferdinando.Auricchio@UniCampania.it

Dr. Tadej Bajd, Professor Emeritus, Robotics
University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Former President, Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Ljubljana
Bajd@Robo.FE.Uni-Lj.si

Vincenzo Bonavita, Professor Emeritus, Neurology
University Federico II, Naples, Italy
President, Istituto di Diagnosi e Cura Hermitage, Capodimonte, Naples
Bonavita@UniNa.it

Giancarlo Bracale, Professor Emeritus, Vascular Surgery
University Federico II of Naples, Italy
GCBracale43@gmail.com

Dr. Luigi Campanella, Professor Emeritus, Environmental and Cultural Heritage Chemistry
Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
General Secretary, European Association of Professors Emeriti
Luigi.Campanella@UniRoma1.it

Dr. Lucija Čok, Professor Emerita, Linguistics, Cultural Anthropology
& Former Rector, University of Primorska, Slovenia
Lucija.Cok@UPr.si

Natale Gaspare De Santo, Professor Emeritus, Cardiology, Nephrology, Internal Medicine, and Pediatrics
University Luigi Vanvitelli Naples, Italy
& President, European Association of Professors Emeriti 
NataleGaspare.DeSanto@UniCampania.it

Dr. Jože Gričar, Professor Emeritus, Information Systems
University of Maribor, Slovenia
Program Coordinator, Inter-Municipality Initiative: Cross-border eCollaboration in the eRegion, Members
Secretary, Professors Emeriti Netwok
Joze.Gricar@UM.si

Dr. Tamás Kozma, Professor Emeritus, Education
University of Debrecen, Hungary
Editor, Hungarian Educational Research Journal
KozmaT@ella.hu

Dr. Michael Kunze, MD, Professor Emeritus, Public Health
Medical University of Vienna, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Center for Public Health, Austria
Member, Board of Directors, European Association of Professors Emeriti
Michael.Kunze@MedUniWien.ac.at

Dr. Carole-Lynne Le Navenec, Associate Professor Emerita, Nursing
University of Calgary, Canada
Program Co-Director, Emeriti Association of the University of Calgary
& Board Member, College and University Retiree Associations of Canada – CURAC 
CLLeNave@UCalgary.ca

Dr.Dr.h.c. Heinrich C. Mayr, Professor Emeritus, Application Engineering
Former RectorAlpen-Adria University of Klagenfurt, Austria
Head, Application Engineering Research Group, Department of Applied Informatics
Heinrich.Mayr@AAU.at

Dr. Bernhard Schrefler, Professor Emeritus, Mechanics of Biological Materials
Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Padua, Italy
Bernhard.Schrefler@dicea.UniPd.it

Links to Publications

An appeal for the establishment of ministries for seniors in all countries of the European Union. By DE SANTO, Natale Gaspare, GRIČAR, Jože, EHRICH, Jochen.  The Bulletin of the European association of professors emeriti. 2022, vol. 3, iss. 1, p. 10-12.

Minister of Seniors Appointment. By Jože Gričar, Professor Emeritus, University of Maribor, Slovenia, Joze.Gricar@UM.siEAPE BULLETIN ISSUE 2021; 2(3): 46-68 PDF. European Association of Professors Emeriti, June 2, 2021, pp 51-53.

Links to the Ministers of (for) Seniors

Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services, Minister for Sport

Hon. Deb Schulte, Minister of Seniors, Canada

Hon. Dr. Michael Farrugia, MD, MinisterMinistry for Senior Citizens and Active Aging, Valletta, Malta

Diane Turner, Director, Office for Seniors, New Zealand, Wellington

Shirley-Anne Somerville, Secretary for Social Security and Older People, Ministry for Older People and Equalities, Scottish Government Edinburgh

Heléna Herklots CBE, Commissioner, Older People’s Commissioner for Wales

Imenovanje ministrice/ministra seniorjev. Mnenje.

Kaj mi, seniorji, lahko dobrega naredimo za seniorje – za sebe?

Glede na naraščajoči delež starejših prebivalcev v večini držav in njihov vedno večji prispevek k srebrni ekonomiji je spodbudno videti, da imajo v nekaterih državah vladno ministrico / vladnega ministra, odgovornega za seniorje. Tu so povezave na spletno stran ministra seniorjev v Avstraliji, Kanadi, na Malta, v Novi Zelandiji, na Škotskem in v Walesu.

Mnogi starejši so bodisi še vedno zaposleni, bodisi skrbijo za druge – za svoje otroke, vnuke in druge v svojih skupnostih – in sami ne potrebujejo pomoči. Mlajša generacija se še vedno lahko uči od starejših na vseh področjih (tehničnem, obrtnem, kognitivnem od osnovne šole do univerze) in njihovo znanje je treba prenašati in ne razpršiti. Več kot je seniorjev, bolj raznolika je družba. To moramo prepoznati, da bomo pravilno ukrepali in oblikovali ustrezne vladne politike. Za državljane vseh držav je pomembno, da se povežejo in zgradijo močnejšo, bolj vključujočo in odpornejšo družbo. Odgovornost vlade je, da sodeluje z državljani, civilno družbo in zainteresiranimi stranmi, vključno s podjetji vseh velikosti, organiziranim delom, širšim javnim sektorjem in neprofitnimi sektorji.

Zakaj je pomembno, da v vsaki državi imenujejo ministrico/ministra seniorjev?

Zamisel o ministrici/ministru seniorjev temelji na izkušnjah v več državah. Zaslužnim profesorjem je bilo to prvič predstavljeno v članku Vse države potrebujejo ministra za starejše. Avtor Gričar J. (p153). Reports from 2020 World Day of Older Persons. A Contribution of the European Association of Professors Emeriti. The Bulletin of the European Association of Professors Emeriti. Supplement 2020; 1(S1): 113-165.

Imenovanje ministra, ki je odgovoren izključno za seniorje, zagotavlja, da se politike v zvezi z zdravstvenim varstvom in finančno varnostjo obravnavajo skozi oči seniorjev. Minister mora biti proaktiven pri zagotavljanju, da mu široka paleta glasov lahko svetuje z vseh področij in regij države. Ministrica seniorjev naj bi pomagala vladi, da bolje razume in sprejema odločitve v zvezi s potrebami starejših. Zagotovila naj bi, da se razvijejo programi in storitve, ki se odzivajo na potrebe starajočega se prebivalstva. Podpirati mora druge ministre pri pobudah v vladi, ki vplivajo na seniorje.

Minister bi moral upokojencem in bodočim upokojencem zagotoviti večjo varnost in kakovostnejše življenje. Biti mora »enak glas za mizo« kot drugi ministri, ki govorijo v imenu seniorjev. Zelo pomembno je njegovo sodelovanje z ministri za zdravje / delo / družino in socialni razvoj pri pobudah za spodbujanje aktivnega in zdravega staranja. To vključuje učenje iz vladnih programov, ki so se izkazali za uspešne in podpirajo potrebe starejših in njihovih družin, in njihovo nadgradnjo. Pa tudi ukrepe, navedene v poročilu Desetletje zdravega staranja: izhodiščno poročilo (Decade of Healthy Aging: Baseline report, World Health Organization 2021-2030).

Za sodelovanje s seniorji, zainteresiranimi stranmi in strokovnjaki za svetovanje o zadevah, povezanih z zdravjem, počutjem in kakovostjo življenja seniorjev naj bi vlada ustanovila nacionalni svet seniorjev. Kot na primer v Kanadi (National Seniors Council).

V državah morajo ljudje razmišljati o staranju drugače, če želijo izkoristiti potencial naraščajoče populacije seniorjev in ljudem ponuditi najboljšo možno prihodnost. Treba je zagotoviti, da bodo vladne naložbe v storitve oskrbe na domu, oskrbe v skupnostih in paliativne oskrbe dobro usklajene in bodo dosegale predvidene učinke.

Pomembno področje, na katerega bi se morali osredotočiti, je zagotoviti, da se odpravi ovire, če seniorji želijo ostati na trgu dela. Potrebno je več sodelovanja z vsemi partnerji, da bi premostili vrzeli med raziskovanjem, izobraževanjem in prakso s spodbujanjem interakcij med učenci, učitelji in člani skupnosti.

Povezani projekti lahko vzpostavijo smiselne vloge seniorjev v njihovih skupnostih z zagotavljanjem več povezav z mladimi. Nadalje s prepoznavanjem možnih programov skupnosti, v katerih lahko sodelujejo starejši z blagimi do zmernimi težavami, in izobraževanjem študentov za povečanje znanja in zavedanja staranja.

Znanje, sposobnosti in izkušnje socialno in ekonomsko angažiranih upokojencev niso le medgeneracijska vez v delovnem procesu. Prispevek predhodno pridobljenih dobrin, vrednosti in premoženja utira pot uspehu mlajših generacij. Kibernetska realnost temelji na tehnologiji zbiranja podatkov, kajti življenje se odigrava glede na vzroke in posledice njihove uporabe. Pri tem so dragocene izkušnje starejših.

Mi, člani Omrežja zaslužnih profesorjev smo zainteresirani aktivno izrabljati priložnosti, ki jih ponuja srebrna ekonomija, in zmanjševati težave, ki jih prinaša dolgoživa družba. V čezmejni regiji želimo pomagati z interdisciplinarnim e-sodelovanjem.

Informacije v dokumentu Imenovanje ministrice/ministra seniorjev. Mnenje bomo širili v svojem okolju.

eMeeting of Professors Emeriti Network Members 21.4.2021

Program:

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