Seminar of the 14th May 2018 : Comment bien vieillir – Stay younger for longer

Seminar of the 14th May 2018 : Comment bien vieillir – Stay younger for longer

Documents

• Framework and scope
• Programme
• Cité Seniors, la porte d’entrée…
• AgeEsteem presentation
• Imad presentation
• Mieux manger pour bien vieillir
• CLIC du Pays de Gex
• Survol des principales pathologies mentales liées à l’âge
• Useful links

Audio recording

Photos album

A seminar on “How to age well – Stay younger for longer” was held on 14 May in the ILO Council Room. Organized by the ILO Alumni Section in collaboration with the former staff of the WHO, United Nations and ITU, it brought together about 200 participants. An inter-organization working group met on several occasions for its preparation. Representatives of the Alumni Section were Kitty Hooton, Liz Sommaro, Abdoulaye Diallo and François Kientzler.

After a presentation on the main normal and pathological consequences of aging on mental health, it was followed by several interventions of member associations of the Geneva Seniors’ Platform, Pro Senectute, Geneva Red Cross, the Geneva institution of maintenance at home (IMAD) and Cité Seniors on the Swiss side and the local gerontological information and coordination center (CLIC) of Pays de Gex on the French side, all followed by questions and comments from the participants.

The focus of the seminar was on living better rather than on the negative aspects of aging; In this connection, the three pillars of aging well were recalled: eating well, training one’s body and maintaining one’s mind. The choice of the speakers was also thought to strengthen the anchoring of our associations in the local environment, thus benefiting all the old ones.

The seminar concluded with the message of hope from Bonnie Fatio, Founder of AgeEsteem, “Aging with passion! “. Bonnie reminded us that, according to a study by Yale University, people who have a positive attitude towards their age live on average seven years and six months longer than others.

We hope that the results of this seminar will have a positive effect on the understanding of the specific needs of elderly pensioners, particularly in the area of ​​prevention for our respective health insurance funds. A detailed account of the work is being prepared thanks to the availability of Holger Postulart who accepted to be the rapporteur, taking notes and going to use the documents made available by the speakers and interpreters. All the people who intervened in this Seminar did it voluntarily and we thank them for it.

The working documents will be put on our website and accessible to all public as well as the report thereafter.

This seminar was the result of a sustained collaboration of several months between associations of retirees of Geneva International Organizations working in synergy. The previous seminar – on isolation – went back to October 2014. We believe that such actions are a new demonstration of the usefulness of associations and groups of pensioners, and even if you have already retired for many years, no feel free to join the Alumni Section to give us your contribution and support.