Purposes and
tasks
Age Forum is an
independent council set up by the Danish Ministry of Social Affairs
in 1996 with the purpose to monitor and assess the conditions of
older people in
Denmark on all relevant fronts.
Older persons
are often perceived as a uniform and weak group in need of public
assistance. Old people may, however, be just as different from one
another, as other social groups, and the fact that especially the
weak are visible in the media contributes to creating a misleading
picture of the old and of ageing. Age Forum is to work for a varied
and precise picture of the old generation and of getting old. The
Council is to help identify older people´s resources and provide a
fuller picture of older people and ageing.
Furthermore Age
Forum is to give inspiration to the present and coming generation
of old people with a view to planning their old age. This may be
done by focusing on the possibilities that exist to organise life
individually and to participate in social life.
Age Forum is to
see to it that public authorities, organizations, etc. become more
attentive to the very big discrepancies among the old generation as
regards health, needs, etc. when legislation and services for the
old are being planned.
Age Forum should:
-
follow
the development in the field of ageing, e.g. the trends in
old people's needs in relation to the labour market, housing,
leisure, culture, traffic and health, the social field and
other relevant areas,
-
evaluate
aggregate efforts for old people carried out by public
authorities, private bodies, voluntary organisations and the
old themselves,
-
contribute by gathering the
experience gained in the field of old people, by the local
Senior Citizens' Councils among others
-
contribute to making the resources
of the old more visible and point to possible barriers that
prevent old people from making use of own resources,
-
contribute to the coordination and
dissemination of information on the conditions of the old and
their rights,
-
propose
initiatives that improve the conditions for the old, as for
example coordinating and preventive
activities.
Publications
AgeForum
regularly issues a number of publications containing information,
inspiration and food for debate on older life, initiates research
and organises conferences, etc.
The Council involves researchers,
administrators, professionals and organisations as well as
municipalities and senior citizens' councils in its work. The
Council's members participate in conferences and meetings,
debating or providing input on the conditions of older
people.
Annual reports are available in
English and can be downloaded from this homepage. AgeForum has also
published a report on Older people and preventive home visits. Read
more: click on "Other reports" and "Annual
Reports".
10.07.07
