Pandemics: how do they change the way we address age and ageing?

ANEC-AGE-EDF Joint statement for UN International Day of Older Persons 1^st October 2020 

Despite the negative consequences of COVID-19, standards have proven key to protecting and supporting society in an emergency situation and can do so in the new normal ahead. From face masks to respirators, and accessibility of communication, we have all learnt the importance of standards in ensuring our safety and wellbeing.

The way we address age and ageing influences the way we provide support and care. The pandemic has shown the limits of our residential care systems, thus questioning our ways of thinking about later life. The pandemic has opened up the debate about the wider community context in which we grow old: this context must offer something new and empowering. This new approach would produce better standards and in the process challenge previous ways of thinking.

Read the full joint statement.