Six Enlightened Governments have dedicated Ministers for Older People. Will Zimbabwe be the seventh and Africa’s first?
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Recognition, Respect, Rights, Representation
Undeniably, the world is ageing. As the 100-year-life becomes more common, the birthrate in 50+ countries is below replacement rate. This huge demographic shift not only generates a massive growth of the Silver Economy but demands a re-adaptation of every aspect of society from education and transportation to long-term care and housing. While many countries have ministries for youth, only six have organized ministries for ageing to cope with the seismic change of
added longevity: Australia, Canada, Malta, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales. (Read Beatrice Sithole’s story below to see how Zimbabwe could become the seventh, and first in Africa).
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Young and Old, Same Principles
The UN boasts that many countries have established youth policies using their World Program for Youth Guide that stresses 10 guiding principles: participation, needs analysis, vulnerable groups, resources, budget, experience, vision, institutional structures, partnerships, and monitoring for evaluation.
What if the same principles were applied to the older population and institutionalized? Do you think dedicated ministries for older people are necessary?
The Pass It On Network, together with our Slovenia liaison, Dr Joze Gricar, and the e-Professor Emeriti Network, is encouraging every country to appoint a Minister for Older People.
Please review our letter and find out if your advocacy is needed to assure representation for older people in your country.
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Call to Action:
Is this advocacy relevant for you and your country?
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The Magic of Connection: From raising my voice as an advocate in a video to meeting the President of Zimbabwe, H.E. Emmerson Mnangagwa
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Beatrice Sithole, our PIONeer in Zimbabwe and the founder of Power of Touch, sent us this triumphant message:
"We’ve done it, Moira! I can't believe we were actually received by the President of Zimbabwe. We had an hour-long meeting, and he liked our idea very much. Actually, he was thoroughly impressed by the depth of our research. We pray now for implementation."
Her big idea was to ask her Government to create a Ministry for Older People.
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All of this happened because of a string of connections reverberating through the Pass It On Network: UK - Seattle - Cape Cod – Paris – Zimbabwe - New York - Slovenia and back to Zimbabwe. The trigger was the UN’s 11th session of the Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing (OEGWA) held at the end of March. COVID and its devastating effects, especially on older people, intensified advocacy for the rights of older people. Advocates worldwide called on the United
Nations to stop talking and start drafting a UN Convention protecting the rights of older people. An “Age with Rights” campaign was initiated by GAROP (the Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People). Two PION liaisons, Margaret Young and Vijay Nairadoo, are members of GAROP’s Steering Committee. PION submitted an advocacy letter that was supported by 88 GAROP members from 28 countries. Pass It On PIONeers around the globe rallied massively to our call and submitted 31 videos with their
statements describing the need for a UN Convention.
Beatrice tells her story ...
“I can’t believe what’s has happened to me since I joined the Pass It On Network in 2020. My friend, Megan Mutepfa, a Zimbabwean like myself and professor of psychology at Botswana University, told me about Pass It On and said I should join if I wanted to grow my organization, the Power of Touch.
“I loved my introductory zoom call with co-founders Jan Hively and Moira Allan. Moira and I discovered we’d both be visiting family in Johannesburg in December and decided to seize the opportunity to create the Southern Africa Pass It On Regional Network with PIONeers from Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Lesotho, and South Africa. We were hosted by the Wiltons Foundation.
“Very shortly thereafter, Moira told all of us about the “Age with Rights” campaign that GAROP was running to push the Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing to start drafting a convention on rights for older people. We were all invited to endorse Pass It On’s statements by Jan Hively and Margaret Young and to make a video.
That same lesson – never give up - got me to the President’s office
“I struggled a lot to concentrate on making my video because my older sister was extremely ill, but I finally managed after several retakes and today I am extremely grateful that I did persevere and plead for a ministry for older people in Zimbabwe. It got me into the President’s office!
“I showed the video to the Power of Touch’s Board of Directors. When they saw it they said we needed to substantiate the plea and submit it to the Government. So we set about it and produced an in-depth report. Can you believe it, just the very day before we were to submit it, Moira WhatsApp’d me saying PIONeer Joze Gricar, secretary of the e-Emeriti Professors Network in Slovenia, had just sent Pass It On a position paper with the results of their global
research on government institutions for older people and had found that there were six ministries around the world.
“It was then a case of ‘wait and see.’ I couldn’t believe it when we were invited to meet the President in person. It was a very uplifting meeting. We had the President’s undivided attention for one full hour. He asked all sorts of questions, complimented us on our report and encouraged us. He showed genuine interest in our project.
”Now, once again, it is wait and see, but I have faith and look forward to a future meeting with him.”
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At the founding meeting of the Pass It On Southern African Regional Network hosted by the Wiltons Foundation, Johannesburg
(l to r) Dr Linda Chipunza, Moira Allan, Oupa Tshabala, regional director of
Youth Build, Beatrice Sithole, and Eunice Munzara.
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Six Enlightened Governments
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Dedicated to Senior Affairs, and setting the pace globally …
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Senator the Hon. Richard Colbeck,
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The Hon. Deb Schulte, Ontario, Canada’s Minister of Seniors Canada, portfolio includes recognizing and promoting seniors' contributions to communities, encouraging greater social inclusion and volunteerism and supporting and recognizing
age-friendly communities.
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New Zealand’s Minister for Seniors is the Hon. Dr Ayesha Verrall, an infectious diseases doctor, she is passionate about preventing illness so that every New Zealander can enjoy good health and live a free and full life. Office for Seniors, New Zealand, Wellington |
PIONeers speak out on Elder Abuse
Femada Shamam, South Africa, and James Mbatia Kinuthia, Kenya, Pass It On Network liaisons, are presenting at a 3-day International Elder Abuse Seminar 15-17 June from 11h-13h IST. The Heritage Foundation, India, and its partners are organizing the event.
Please view attached PDF to learn more and register for event. |
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