The operational framework is designed to facilitate mainstreaming and encourage activities within a long-term perspective. Its specific objectives are the following:
Raising Awareness: the Society for All Ages
To raise awareness, focusing on the society for all ages, the Year’s theme;
Looking Ahead: Beyond 1999
To encourage looking ahead, beyond 1999, identifying a vision, priorities and essential processes for the long term;
Reaching Out: Non-Traditional Actors
To reach out to non-traditional actors such as the development community, the media, the private sector and youth;
Networking: Research and Information Exchange
To improve networking so as to achieve greater consistency and comparability of data and research, and better collaboration among the major global networks that now span every continent.