Forty Years of Global Action on Ageing: What Has Been Achieved?

Forty years ago The World Assembly on Ageing was held in Vienna in 1982. A forum to launch an international action programme aimed at guaranteeing economic and social security to older persons, as well as opportunities to contribute to national development. The Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing was the first international instrument on ageing, guiding thinking and the formulation of policies and programmes on ageing. It aimed to strengthen the capacities of Governments and civil society to deal effectively with the ageing of populations and to address the developmental potential and dependency needs of older persons. Twenty years ago this spring saw The Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing and the Political Declaration adopted at the Second World Assembly on Ageing in April 2002. It was seen to mark a turning point in how the world addresses the key challenge of “building a society for all ages”. The Madrid Plan of Action offered a bold new agenda for handling the issue of ageing in the twenty-first-century. It focused on three priority areas: older persons and development; advancing health and well-being into old age; and ensuring enabling and supportive environments. It aimed to provide a resource for policymaking, suggesting ways for Governments, non-governmental organizations, and other actors to reorient the ways in which their societies perceive, interact with and care for their older citizens. It was also the first time Governments agreed to link questions of ageing to other frameworks for social and economic development and human rights. In recognition of the 1982 The Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing and the 2002 The Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, the entire Volume 15 on of the Journal of Population Ageing will focus on Global Ageing. Each issue takes a region and explores through commissioned and submitted papers key questions, highlighting the now extensive range of research being undertaken, by both