The United Nations International Day of Older Persons 2021 (UNIDOP) theme “Digital Equity for All Ages” predicates the need for access and meaningful participation in the digital world by older persons.

The world “is challenged like never before”, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday, but the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) still offer a roadmap to get back on track.

“It would be easy to lose hope. But we are not hopeless. Or helpless. We have a path to recovery. If we choose to take it,” he said.

The General Assembly opens its seventy-sixth session in challenging times. President, H.E. Abdulla Shahid takes the leadership of the Assembly, committed to focus on “Building resilience through hope – to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainability, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalize the United Nations”.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) was adopted by the General Assembly on 13 September 2007, with 144 countries voting in support, 4 voting against and 11 abstaining. 

Ongoing and emerging global trends, such as globalization, new technologies, the rise in global inequality, demographic shifts, climate change and threats generated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, will dramatically impact societies and individuals of all ages, and will determine the nature and future of work.

“They are tackling inequities in food security, biodiversity loss, threats to our environment and much more”, Secretary-General António Guterres spelled out in his message for the day.

The report of the Secretary-General to the seventy-sixth session of the General Assembly on the follow-up to the Second World Assembly on Ageing provides an analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on older persons. It serves to explore pathways to ensure that older persons are better incorporated into efforts to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic in various policy areas. The report also features selected work carried out by the United Nations system on ageing and older persons. It contains key recommendations for consideration by the Assembly.

Within the context of the Inter-Agency Group on Ageing, WHO, DESA, ITU, and UN Women launched an advocacy brief on social isolation and loneliness among older people on 29 July 2021.

This July 3^rd, the International Day of Cooperatives (#CoopsDay) will be celebrated as “Rebuild better together”. Cooperatives around the world will showcase how they are meeting the COVID-19 pandemic crisis with solidarity and resilience and offering communities a people-centred and environmentally just recovery.

Older Persons have been among the first and hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. In many respects the pandemic could be viewed as a test of how prepared/or not Member States are for the rapidly ageing society. Pandemics disrupt and have the potential to drive change. Only a whole-of-society, whole-ofgovernment approach can respond effectively to the dynamic challenges of this time. In his report, the Secretary-General presented new research on how longevity has the power to transform labour markets, economies and societies.