New Leadership for the IFA
On the 27th of May 2012, just prior to the 11th Global Conference on Ageing in Prague, the IFA held its Annual General Meeting where the newly elected President and Executive Team were announced to members: President - Dr. K. R. Gangadharan; International Vice President - Mr. Bjarne Knud Hastrup; Treasurer - Mr. Alan How; Regional Vice President (Asia) - Dr. Hisashi Hozumi; Regional Vice President (Europe) - Dr. Elizabeth Mestheneos; Regional Vice President (North America) - Dr. Amy D'Aprix; Regional Vice President (Oceania) - Mr. Robert Reid; and Immediate Past President - Ms. Irene Hoskins.
At the same time we farewell Board of Director Members who had completed their terms of office with the IFA. Our thanks and gratitude to those departing Directors (Yitzhak Brick, David Deans and Gordon Lishman), who have helped shape, guide and lead this organization so effectively during their terms.
On a final note and on behalf of the Board and IFA Secretariat, we thank Ms. Irene Hoskins for her dedication to the position of President from her election in 2006. During this 6 year period the IFA has strengthened its position as a voice and advocate of older people across the globe. Meet the new Board. |
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IFA Staff Changes
Welcome! The IFA is pleased to welcome to our staff two new Project Officers, Ms. Anna Fernandez and Ms. Marie Louvet from the Institute for Political Science from Aix-en-Provence, France. They will begin their nine month stay at the beginning of September, and we look forward to them joining the IFA team.
Farewell to Ms. Allison Gorman
Allison has been a valuable team member and has contributed significantly to the growth of the IFA. From the day she started she has taken immense initiative with every project she has been assigned. Allison's extensive knowledge and capabilities demonstrates her versatility and her commitment to achieve the best outcomes. Throughout her time with the IFA she has gained invaluable experience in working on an international scale.She is a team player who strives for perfection. We wish Allison the best of luck as she embarks on her journey to discover her career path. Organizations in the Toronto area seeking a creative, compassionate, optimistic individual who will significantly contribute to an organization's mission should contact Allison directly (contact details below). She will be an asset to an organizations growth and future development.
We will miss her positive and energetic attitude in our office and we wish her the best of luck.
We are sad to say goodbye to our Project Officer, Ms. Allison Gorman, who will be finishing her 4 month placement at the end of August, which will conclude her studies in Not-for-Profit Management at the University of Western Ontario. Prior to her studies at Western, Allison studied Gerontology at McMaster University, Hamilton, where she obtained her Bachelor's Degree. She came to us with a positive and energetic attitude and we knew that she would be an excellent addition to the IFA. |
Contact Information:
To view Allison's LinkedIn Profile please click here To view Allison's Resume please click here |
New Book: The Human Rights Approach to Social Protection |
The IFA is pleased to bring to your attention a new book on "The Human Rights Approach to Social Protection", written by Magdalena Sepúlveda (UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights) and Carly Nyst, published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland. The publication is designed to fill a vacuum in the global literature on social protection, and we hope you will agree that it succeeds in providing a readable and comprehensive overview of this important issue. The book is divided into three main sections: - An analysis of the relationship between poverty, human rights and social protection
- A framework for the human rights-based approach to social protection
- Conclusion: the future of social protection
To download the free PDF please click here |
The Gerontological Society of America's 65th Annual Scientific Meeting
GSA's Annual Scientific Meeting brings together more than 4,000 of the brightest minds in the field of aging. This meeting is the premier gathering of gerontologists from both the United States and around the world. They participate in over 400 scientific sessions including symposia, paper, and poster presentations.
 GSA's scientific program is one of the most respected and competitive of its kind. The theme is "Charting New Frontiers in Aging." Charting implies connections - within and across disciplines, professions, individuals, cohorts, generations, systems, environments, cultures and nations. By charting connections, we move beyond our personal insights and investigations to achieve a deeper and more meaningful understanding of aging and its implications.
Save the date for San Diego, California's second largest city! From the time you arrive at the airport, it's only a five-minute ride to the San Diego Convention Center. Everything you need is within walking distance - and with an average temperature of 72 degrees - walking is the way to go!
For more information about the event and to register please click here
To view the Exhibit/Sponsorship Prospectus & Program Advertisements Package please clickhere
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A Framework for the Law as it Affects Older Adults TORONTO, July 11, 2012 - The Law Commission of Ontario (LCO) today released its "Framework for the Law as it Affects Older Adults". The Framework enables policy-makers, legislators, courts, advocates, community organizations and others to understand and evaluate the effects of law, policies and practices on older adults, and provides a foundation for law reform efforts in the area.
The Framework and accompanying Final Report is the result of substantial research and public consultation, a project that the IFA is proud to have been part of through the projects advisory group, represented by the Secretary General, Dr Jane Barratt. "Today the LCO has joined the ranks of leaders not only in Canada but internationally in examining some of the fundamental barriers to protecting the rights of older people. The work of the LCO in developing a framework through which laws can be examined is ground breaking and timely, especially because as in just a few short weeks Member States will come together at the United Nations to further discuss and debate the value or not in establishing a new human rights instrument to protect the rights of older people" said DrBarratt.
The Framework and Final Report are available online and are recommended reading for those working with, and developing policy and programs for older people not only in Canada but across the globe.
You can access both reports by clicking here
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BMO Retirement Institute April 2012 Report: Estate planning in the 21st century: New considerations in a changing society
While the basics of estate planning have been the same for centuries, the traditional approach needs to be broadened to reflect changing realities. Boomers are embracing new technologies at unprecedented rates and now have access to a world of digital information and online tools. Individuals are also living longer than ever before, so it is possible that boomers may care for both their aging parents and growing children, and seek companionship in the form of pet ownership. These changes may increase the risk of overlooking important aspects during the estate planning process.
To keep up with these new realities, estate planning needs to evolve. Individuals and their advisors should consider broadening discussions to include three emerging estate planning issues:
- The accumulation of digital assets: We should start looking beyond tangible, physical assets and make provisions for our intangible assets.
- The growing need for elder care: As lifespans lengthen, we should ensure that the loved ones we care for will be comfortable if we're no longer able to look after them.
- The changing status of pets in our lives: As pets are increasingly considered "members of the family," we should also be considering their needs in the event of our death or incapacity.
In this report, the Institute takes a closer look at these trends and suggests ways in which individuals could adapt their estate plans to reflect these new realities.
To view the full report please click here |
Revera Report: Tech-Savvy Seniors Bridging the Digital Divide Social connectivity and independent living key benefits, say seniors; new research partnership with U of T to explore age-friendly technologies.
TORONTO, June 20, 2012-Digital communications may once have been the domain of the young, but Canada's senior citizens are increasingly crossing the digital divide, according to new research from Revera, a Canadiand leader in seniors' accommodation, care and services. The Revera Report on Tech-Savvy Seniors reveals that a growing army of online seniors, aged 75 and older, are using digital technology for everything from independent living to online shopping and more face time with friends and family using platforms like Skype. Further, three-quarters surveyed say they believe technology has the potential to make their lives easier. According to Statistics Canada, only five per cent of seniors 75 and older were online in 2000; today, that number has grown more than fivefold to 27 per cent. Recent data from Pew Research Center, a U.S.-based think-tank, showed 34 per cent of American seniors 75-plus are now online.
"The computer is invaluable to me. I don't know what I would do without it," said Bertha Kronenberg, 88, who stays in touch with family living in South Africa from her computer at Revera's Forest Hill Place Retirement Residence in Toronto. "The internet is a wonderful record of what is going on in the world."
Revera Report on Tech-Savvy Seniors: Key Findings
- Canadian online seniors 75 and older are most inclined to use technology to keep socially active. In fact, email has surpassed face to face contact as a primary way to keep in contact with friends and family.
- Fifty-three percent are socializing via social networking sites like Facebook, and one in five uses Skype or Facetime to speak with friends and family.
- Eighty-eight per cent go online at least once a day.
- Seven in 10 believe technology plays an important role in helping them live in their homes for as long as possible.
To read the full news release please click here |
Displacement: Older People Face Greater Burdens
From IRIN Global
Experts say older people are affected more severely than the rest of the population during displacement. "People who have energy can resist or run or take away belongings. An old person doesn't have the energy to do all this. So in cases of forced evictions, for instance, they lose a home and lose belongings and also a critical social network," Protus Waringa, a Kenyan human rights law expert, told IRIN.
"Even if they found themselves in camps, they miss out on food rations or shelter provisions because of immobility to get to where such help is being offered. If they do get a little, they share it with those under their care, normally children," he added. "Rather than be seen as people who need help, many old people find themselves turned into caregivers."
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Mother at Lelmolok IDP camp, Kenya
© Kate Cummings/The Advocacy Project |
Globally, an estimated 26.4 million people were displaced by armed conflict, generalized violence and human rights violations at the end of 2011, according to a 2011 overview by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC); the overview noted that there were huge gaps in the data available on older IDPs, with just six out of 50 countries making specific reference to older persons in their data on IDPs.
"In Burundi, information was gathered on groups at risk, including older people. Many older IDPs there, were no longer able to walk for several hours to their places of origin to tend their fields and livestock. This left older people unable to produce food for themselves or to sell, further limiting their prospects of overcoming their displacement," the authors reported. "In most countries, failure to identify such threats faced by diverse members of communities not only resulted in IDPs' needs going unaddressed, but it often led to actions that inadvertently increased the risks they faced and further marginalized them."
According to a recent report HelpAge and IDMC, conflicts and natural disasters often pose agonizing dilemmas for the elderly.
"Older people who stay behind when others leave may be subject to violence, intimidation or secondary impacts of natural hazards, such as aftershocks or rising flood waters," and often lose essential assistance and support mechanisms, the authors said. However, if they do decide to flee, risks include "the possibility of being separated from their family and thus ending up in near-complete isolation".
"In Darfur in 2004, for example, when huge numbers of people fled across large distances to urban centres, numerous older people reportedly arrived in IDP camps alone, having been separated from their families during the journey, or simply having stopped or been abandoned along the route due to physical exhaustion," the authors said. |
To read the full article please click here |
UNDESA - Third Working Session of the Expert Group Meeting on the Human Rights of Older Persons
United Nations Headquarters, New York, 21-24 August, 2012. |
The Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing was established by the General Assembly by resolution 65/182 on 21 December 2010.
The working group considers the existing international framework of the human rights of older persons and identifies possible gaps and how best to address them, including by considering, as appropriate, the feasibility of further instruments and measures.
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Credit: Tom Weller/HelpAge International |
OHCHR and UNDESA conveyed a three-day Expert Meeting on the human rights of older persons in New York, 29 to 31 May 2012, to precede the third working session of the open-ended working group. The meeting was open to Member States and other stakeholders as observers, and aimed at informing a debate from a substantive human rights perspective by addressing urgent and relevant gaps in the respect, protection and fulfillment of human rights of older persons.
The Third Session of the Open-ended Working Group on strengthening the protection of the human rights of older persons will be convened from 21 to 24 August 2012 at the United Nations North Lawn Building (NLB) in New York.
For more information on the Third Session please click here
To view the tentative agenda please click here |
Australian Department of Health and Ageing - Consumer Directed Care Evaluation |
The Department of Health and Ageing is undertaking an initiative to demonstrate consumer-directed care models of community aged care service delivery under the innovative Pool Program and the National Respite for Carers Program. Consumer Directed Care is a form of care for older people that gives them a greater say in, and more control over, the design and delivery of community care services provided to them and their carers. 
An evaluation of the Consumer Directed Care initiative was undertaken by KPMG, on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. The evaluation commenced in early 2011 and finished in January 2012.
CDC aims to provide community aged care consumers (care recipients and carers) with greater control of their lives by allowing them, to the extent that they are capable and wish to do so and relative to their assessed care need level, to make informed choices about the types of care services they access and the delivery of those services, including who will deliver the services and when they are delivered.
The report presents the main findings of the evaluation, highlights lessons learnt from the initiative to date, and proposes strategies and actions for consideration should CDC be expanded in future years.
To read the full evaluation and report please click here |
Outcome Report - International Workshop on Human Rights of Older Persons in India 4-6 June - In the context of the work of the Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing, UN DESA, the Office of the High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the review of the implementation of MIPAA, the Centre for Gerontological Studies (CGS) in Thiruvananthapuram, India, in collaboration with the International Federation on Ageing (IFA) organised an International Workshop of concerned and interested parties to discuss this issue. |
The Workshop was held in Thiruvananthapuram, capital of the Indian State of Kerala and was attended by over 120 delegates from 10 countries - Bangladesh, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, United States and Vietnam. A number of activists from advocacy and human rights groups also attended the workshop as observers.
Besides the Inaugural and Valedictory Sessions, there was a Special Address by Mr. Anand Grover, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health about the protection of the rights of older persons. Workshop sessions included: Country perspectives on the right of older people to health and wellbeing; the right to be safe; the importance of advocacy and the role of civil society; and a final panel discussion on the next steps toward empowering older persons at the global, regional and state level.
 All sessions were interactive resulting in ideas and suggestions from active participants on how to ensure the rights of older persons. The delegates suggested that in the absence of a regional convention on the rights of older persons in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) as well as in the Asia Pacific Region, the workshop was treated as a forum of the countries of this region to voice the needs and concerns of older persons.
The suggestions and recommendations of the workshop are given in the form of Outcome Statement in the next section which also throws light on the major points discussed at this important three day event.
The Workshop was coordinated by Dr. P. K. B. Nayar, Chairman, Centre for Gerontological Studies, with the support of Dr. Jane Barratt, Secretary General, International Federation on Ageing and the Summary of the Proceedings and Outcome Statement reflects the joint cooperation.
To read the full Summary of Proceedings and Outcome Statement please click here |
Ufa International Conference on Ageing 17 - 20 September, 2012 |
The international conference entitled "Active Ageing: Towards a New Agenda on Ageing" is a central element in the broader event "50 Plus: Positives of Ageing", which will feature:  - Exhibition of goods and products for older persons
- Senior arts, film, photo and live performance festival
- Senior officials meeting
- NGO Meeting
- WHO Age-friendly cities and communities workshop (with Lisa Warth, WHO Global Network of Age-friendly Cities and Communities (GNAFCC)
The main goal of the Conference is to improve the understanding of ageing issues toward more effective policies in the context of the significant social and economic change in Russia and more broadly in the region. The objectives of the conference are to: - Create meaningful opportunities for participants to meet and form working relationships with researchers and policy makers in Russia and around the world
- Improve understanding of the mechanism to develop effective responsive ageing policies
- Provide new knowledge through presentations, case-studies, guidelines and other materials from leading-edge thinkers and leaders
Raise awareness and solicit participation in the discussion of senior officials in Russia and abroad, including signing the Dublin Declaration.
To learn more about the International Conference and to register your interest please click here |
IFA Platforms
The International Federation on Ageing is here to facilitate effective policy discussions through global networks and diverse multimedia campaigns. You can connect with us via Facebook, Twitter (@Intfedageing), email, phone calls and face to face interactions.
The following are the current Platforms that the IFA is working on:
*Please note that more details will follow for each of the platforms closer to their individual dates
China - IFA Board Meeting and Workshop 13-14 December, 2012 - The IFA will be holding a board meeting in Hong Kong, China. Following the meeting will be Education Sessions on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and IFA Workgroup Sessions resulting on the sessions of CSR. 16 December - The IFA and delegates will be attending the Shenzen International Forum on Ageing *Further details will be posted closer to the event dates. Cameroon - International Workshop on Ageing and Healthy Environments
The International Workshop will focus on some of the burning issues around elderly people and ageing in Cameroon, giving Cameroon-based organizations the opportunity to showcase their work and foster international interest and discussion.
Indeed, by 2050, the numbers of people aged over 60 are expected to triple. Most of the increase in the population is taking place in sub Saharan African countries where average income is less than $1 per day. Older African people are facing real challenges in their everyday lives such as high poverty and HIV levels, a lack of infrastructures and most of all a lack of public awareness and governmental concern.
Friends of IFA Japan (FOIFA) have taken the initiative to co-host, together with other partners this exciting International Workshop to be held in Cameroon in 2013. Key topics will include:
- Health and Wellbeing into Old Age - Elder Abuse - Older Persons and Crisis Management - Age-friendly Environments
Join our Cameroon Workshop and, together, let's give older African's people a voice! |
To register, please provide your contact details in an email to Mr. Greg Shaw at
Istanbul - International Istanbul Initiative on Ageing 2013
This initiative aims to explore opportunities and innovative ideas as population ageing progresses. Two of the four major components of the IIIA include a trade fair and a congress. The trade fair will showcase a variety of international exhibitors featuring traditional and innovative elderly care solutions and the congress titled "Intergenerational Solidarity" will comprise of four major themes: Priorities; Longevity; New approaches in elderly prosperity; and Elderly care models and thirteen sub themes.
Register your interest with Ms Annie Tam, Manager, Programs & New Initiatives by email at atam@ifa-fiv.org
India - 12th Global Conference on Ageing: Health Security and Community
The IFA's 12th Global Conference will be held 10-13 June ,2014 at the Hydrabad International Convention Cente (HICC), India.
Key events: - Senior Officials Meeting
- Internationally renowned expert speakers
- Preconference workshops
- Site visits
- Tour Programs
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Welcome to our New Members
The IFA team would like to wish a warm welcome to our new members who have recently joined our global network:
Ms Karen Oyiengo, Rokawelja Turning Point Women Group - Kenya, Africa Prof. Lisa Brown, University of South Florida - Florida, USA Dr. Praveen G Pai - Kerala, India Ms. Mary Skaltsas, |
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