International Day for the Elderly takes place every year on 1st October. The day is dedicated to caring for, honoring and respecting the elderly of the world – after all, we are going to be a part of this group eventually!
The United Nations General Assembly dedicated 1st October to be International Day for the Elderly 23 years ago in 1990. Also known as the International Day for Older Persons, the holiday was the consequence of the UN World Assembly on Aging that was formed eight years earlier, in 1982, in order to explore and deal with the needs of elderly people all over the world.
In 1991 the General Assembly then adopted the UN Principles for Older Persons and 11 years after that, in 2002, the Madrid International Plan of Action on Aging was adopted by the Second World Assembly on Aging in order to respond to the opportunities and challenges of the population growing older in the 21st century and in order to bring about the development of a society that is truly designed for people of all ages. The theme of this year’s commemoration is the future that older people say they want.
The United Nations says that one in every ten people in the world today is now 60 years old or more, with this figure expected to rise to one in every five people by the year 2050 and one in every three people by the year 2150.
Bill Barkulis
