1 October: International Day of Older Persons – generativity: there's so much we can share

Every year, on 1 October, the international community celebrates the "International Day of Older Persons," a United Nations initiative aimed at highlighting the challenges of increasing life expectancy and honouring the contributions that older people make to society.

With this in mind, the Ministry of Family Affairs, Solidarity, Living Together and Reception of Refugees has chosen to focus this year's Day on the theme of generativity, in other words, the ability and desire to create something important and pass it on to future generations.

While aging is still all too often associated with negative connotations such as illness, loss of physical and mental faculties, vulnerability and loneliness, it's important to remember that the opposite can also be true.

Many seniors are not (just) passive recipients of care and support; they are also protagonists in their own lives and active community members. As they grow older, they have acquired knowledge and life experience that can only be shared with other generations.

Regarding resilience, we also have a lot to learn from our elders. They have accumulated a wealth of negative and positive experiences, enabling them to understand and consider many situations that sometimes overwhelm us or seem unmanageable.

Through mentoring, volunteering or creative projects, older people can not only actively promote intergenerational dialogue, but also set a positive example and act as a source of inspiration.

Against this backdrop, and to mark the International Day of Older Persons, the Ministry of Family Affairs, Solidarity, Living Together and Reception of Refugees commissioned GERO Kompetenzzenter fir den Alter to carry out a micro-trottoir interviewing passers-by of all ages and nationalities about what they associate with old age and their memories of older people who have impressed or inspired them. The testimonies collected, which will be broadcast on social networks from 1 October, illustrate just how much the voices of the elderly deserve to be heard and appreciated.

Press release by the Ministry of Family Affairs, Solidarity, Living Together and Reception of Refugees