Enabling diverse voices and meaningful engagement of older people
With the adoption of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021-2030) by the UN General Assembly in 2020, Member States committed to 10 years of concerted and collaborative action to improve the lives of the older people, their families, and communities. The Decade’s action plan recognizes older people as rights holders and calls for them to be at the centre of the Decade’s work.
Older people around the world are a diverse group in terms of their mental and physical capacities, experiences, interests, needs and available resources. Older people make considerable contributions to their communities as agents of change, consumers, employees, employers, givers and receivers of care, volunteers and so much more.
Given there is no typical older person it is important to hear voices of older people in all their diversity and to reach those in situations of greatest vulnerability, exclusion and invisibility—leaving no one behind. Authentic voices emerge through a meaningful engagement process where older people influence discussions on health and well-being.
WHO is enabling voice and meaningful engagement under the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing by:
- Testing and using methodologies to meaningfully engage older people, their families and local communities and amplify their voices
- Enabling these voices to be heard by decision-makers and influence activities implemented during the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing and
- Supporting others to use and integrate processes that enable meaningful engagement by providing guidance, toolkits, and other resources
