Aide-memoire

I. Background

The global interest in ageing is rising and to better align the organization’s mandate with this phenomena, the United Nations Secretary General introduced his road map for the implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (presented in the report of the S-G, A/58/160) in 2003. In response to the road map, ESCAP organized a 3-day regional Seminar in October 2004 to review the status of implementation of its regional instrument on ageing – known as the “Shanghai Implementation Strategy (SIS) for the Madrid and Macao Plans of Action on Ageing since 2002”. The Seminar was held in Macao, China, and was attended by representatives from fifteen Governments, five NGOs, five academic institutions and two UN agencies.

The rising interest in ageing issues in the region is mainly because of the effects of increasing longevity, old-age illness, and declining fertility; these can result in a ‘structural lag’ in society – social and health services cannot keep pace with the changes of population structures and individual lives. Further, changes in family structures and the declining availability of supportive treatment of older persons by child adults – due to migration, changes in employment practices, changing attitudes -- have also accorded more attention to ageing in Asia and the Pacific.

The Macao seminar provided a forum for social policy-makers, NGOs and academics to interact and debate the above issues in an open, comparative, and non-parochial way. While the agenda of the Seminar focused on the progress achieved since the adoption of the SIS in 2002, it also proposed a culturally-sensitive modality for tracking that progress. The progress tracking modality was well received and recommendations were made by the participants to put it to use in ageing public policy planning. The recommendations of the Seminar also included the use of multi-disciplinary approaches for future action, study how to promote regional and international cooperation to support national implementation efforts and propose ways to better understand the social determinants of population ageing issues.

In view of the upcoming 5-year global review of Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing to be held at the UN Headquarters in February 2008, the Seminar requested the secretariat to organize a follow-up High-level Regional Meeting on the Implementation of SIS in the region in 2007, the report of which will constitute the region’s input to the global five-year review. The outcome of the High-level Meeting is expected to increase the visibility of ageing issues at the regional, national, and sub-national levels; raise awareness of the determinants of social quality in old age; and strengthen the interaction between government officials (from concerned ministries) and other national and regional actors. It is hoped that this strengthened interaction will lead to improved collective responses to the ageing challenge in Asia and the Pacific, particularly in regard to the need to expand the coverage of economic and social security, extend long-term care-support programmes to poor older persons, and better understand the impact of inter-generational relationships.
So far, the responses of most governments and national actors in the region have focused on improving the quality of life and well-being of older persons while ensuring their continued participation and development in society. There efforts highlighted the need to foster positive images of ageing, promote active ageing and life-long preparation for old age, strengthen informal care systems for the elderly, provide assistance to needy or vulnerable older persons, review of existing social protection coverage, establish standards of care, develop integrated health and social services, provide quality long-term care and community services, reduce the risk of poverty in old age, and intensify regional and international cooperation on ageing issues.

II. Objective

In preparation for the aforementioned High-level Meeting in 2007, this Expert Group Meeting (EGM) was planned to propose the agenda of the first. The EGM will debate the effects of ageing in its socio-economic and cultural context in Asia and the Pacific, and hear from experts in the field about the sustainable and essential aspects of their ageing activities, and whether or not they have changed over the last two years. It will also look at ways and means to overcome difficulties in resource mobilization, knowledge creation and dissemination, and expertise keeping in mind the impact of the socio-economic status of low-income elderly persons in the region, which is a priority concern. The participants are also expected to propose priority areas of action and ways to strengthen the mandate of ESCAP in the area of ageing.

III. Organization of the EGM

Date and venue: 30 June- 1 July 2006. The EGM will be held at the Holiday Inn Pudong Shanghai.

IV. Provisional agenda

V. Methodology

Introductory statements (2 minutes) and presentations (up to 15 minutes) will be made on the agenda items above, but not exhaustively, either by the secretariat or the participating experts. Each participant is expected to choose a topic(s) related to their work focus or area for the presentations. Electronic media will be used extensively. Each presentation will be followed by a short discussion to collect immediate reactions and recommendations for consideration.

Tangential issues of interest will be entertained as well. That is because the ageing field is becoming increasingly multi-disciplinary in approach and study. Accordingly, the participants are encouraged to keep in mind the complex array of issues connected to ageing and share their views on points of interest. For example, the challenges being faced by young or middle-aged caring adults (e.g., those providing care for an elderly relative) can be raised from both perspectives, the care provider’s and care receiver’s. Sharing valuable information related to long-term health insurance, pension schemes, migrating and returning workers, to mention a few, are highly recommended.

VI. Documentation

Two sets of documents will be made available:

Set I

1. Shanghai Implementation Strategy (PDF 89 KB)
2. Provisional agenda (PDF 7 KB)
3. Tentative programme (PDF 16 KB)
4. Background papers related to the items in the agenda:
   1. 2005 ESCAP survey of the ageing situation in the region. (PDF 162 KB)
   2. Report of the Regional Seminar on Follow-up to the Shanghai Implementation Strategy for the Madrid and Macao Plans of Action on Ageing, 18-21 October 2004, ESCAP 2005. (PDF 328 KB)
   3. Macao 2004 Guidelines for the Review and Appraisal of the Shanghai plan of Action on Ageing: Draft Protocol, ESCAP 2004. (PDF 221 KB)
   4. Focus groups training manual and protocols in the field of ageing.
   5. Resource mobilization for population ageing efforts and activities. (PDF 128 KB)

Set II

1. Abstracts of Participants’ papers and presentations (please send these as soon as they are available).

VII. Contributed materials

1. Ageing Policy and Programme Development in Indonesia: Update
2. Age structure transition, Ageign and Development in Asia and the Pacific (PDF 6 KB)
3. Evidence-Based Policy Making (PPT 286 KB)
4. Ageing, Functional Incapacitations and Emerging Needs for Geriatric and Long-Term Care Infrastructure: Highlights of a Proposed Study on Functional Health of the Aged in China and India for the Creation of Geriatric Services, Infrastructure & Financing Mechanism. (PPT 242 KB)
5. The Concept of Social Quality and Its Implication for Social Welfare in Asia and the Pacific (PDF 73 KB)
6. Options for Increasing Coverage (PPT 232 KB)
7. Empowerment of Older Persons' Associations and Communities
8. Women and Income-security in Asia: Singapore Case-study (PDF 50 KB)

VIII. Expected outcome

1. Report of the meeting. (PDF 292 KB)
2. Proposed agenda for the 2007 High-level Meeting in Macao.
3. Recommendations for strengthening the mandate of ESCAP on ageing.

IX. Participation

Eminent ageing experts from academia, government representatives, international organizations, and civil society practitioners in the region will be invited. It is expected that 20 persons will attend the meeting.

X. List of Participants

IX. Language

English will be the working language of the meeting. Other languages will be considered with self-supported translation.

X. Culture

Religious practices will be considered (e.g.; prayer time break) with advance notification.