May-Meeting of the board

*Lively zoommeeting with Kerstin, Christa, Gaby, Pirkko, Robert, Irmgard and Erwin* *(from left to right)*

We had a lively discussion covering many points. We will be attending the Age-Friendly City Congress in June in San Sebastian with a poster that Christa is putting together. Robert is considering whether it is worth attending the next UN Convention discussion in Geneva. The aim is to establish a convention on the rights of older people.
Our banner on the EGP website has changed; a cross has been added. We were surprised – what is this meant to tell us?

Gaby and Robert are trying to arrange a meeting with Anna to clarify this, amongst other things. They also plan to give EGP our paper on international fairness and our wish to receive EGP’s support regarding the UN Convention. Robert pointed out that fairness is not the same as solidarity. And Kerstin mentioned, that we invented the internet and enabled the lifestyle that everybody has. Our approach is based on solidarity between the generations.

Irmgard is calling Rodica to find out how far the committee has got with its work on the new constitution and which informations she needs from us. She will than send her the documents she needs. All the documents can be found on our website

We discussed generational attitudes toward older people, particularly within the Green Party. Christa expressed that there is often a pitying attitude from younger members toward older generations.

The AGE platform has various task forces that we can join – and wow: Kerstin is now responsible for age und social inclusion, Pirkko for dignified and healthy aging, Erwin employment and participation, Robert UN Convention for the rights of older persons and Christa for age-friendly Citites and Communities. Well done!

*Using a friendship bench while campaigning for the Green Party* *in Hamburg*

And we discussed implementing a „(friendship) bench” initiative as a campaign for the Green Party. Friendship benches send a clear message: anyone who sits here is up for a chat. Benches are a great way to combat loneliness and encourage greater mobility. People with limited mobility need a chance to catch their breath. And neither of these issues affects only older people. We all will make videos chatting with older and younger people on the bench, in different languages with English subtitles. We will post the videos on 1.October, the international day of older people.

Let’s go!