Assistant Secretary General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, Ms Maria Francesca Spatolisano, participated in the closing panel at the 2020 Mont Blanc Meetings, organized for the Social and Solidarity Economy Forum International, 1^st October 2020. The biannual meetings are attended by policy-makers, social and solidarity economy practitioners, academics and civil society with the aim of popularizing the social and solidarity enterprise model globally.

Empowering and Protecting Persons with Disabilities during and after COVID-19: A Conversation with the Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General on Disability and Accessibility, October 30, 2020, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (ET). 

The COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on the rights and health of older persons: as of September 2020, nearly 9 out of 10 COVID-19-related deaths reported in the UNECE region have been among adults aged 65 years and older. The region currently hosts more than 30 per cent of the world’s population aged 65 and above.

The theme for the Day this year “Acting together to achieve social and environmental justice for all” addresses the challenge of achieving social and environmental justice for all. The growing recognition of the multi-dimensionality of poverty means that these two issues are inseparably intertwined and that social justice cannot be fully realized without aggressively rectifying environmental injustices at the same time.

The year 2020 marks the 75^th Anniversary of the United Nations and the 30^th Anniversary of the International Day of Older Persons (UNIDOP). This year has also seen an emergence of  COVID-19, that has caused an upheaval across the world. Considering the higher risks confronted by older persons during the outbreak of pandemics such as COVID-19, policy and programmatic interventions must be targeted towards raising awareness of their special needs.

Following OEWG related events? You're invited!

The German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, AGE Platform Europe and BAGSO (German National Association of Senior Citizens’ Organisations) are pleased to invite you to a jointly organised online OEWG inter-sessional conference on “Strengthening Older People’s Rights in Times of Digitalisation – Lessons learned from Covid-19”.

When? 1:30pm - 4:00pm (Berlin/Geneva time), 28 September

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.

Thirteen years have passed since the UN Declaration was adopted by the General Assembly. Since then, the four countries voting against have reversed their position and now support the Declaration.

The pandemic slump is a crisis that was waiting to happen; it may turn into a pandemic depression. The depth of the crisis reflects the fragility of the economic system that was forged in the four decades of globalization. It made the global economy uniquely fragile to shocks and will make the economic outcomes of the pandemic much worse.

Please join the Division for Inclusive Social Development on 10 September, for a webinar on universal basic incomes with Professor Guy Standing.

In the first-ever interview with AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins, António Guterres Secretary-General of the United Nations answers the question: “What are the implications for older people as we see this COVID-19 spreading all across the world?”

Watch highlights from this historic fireside chat here.

Watch the full video below:

https://youtu.be/GKrXGO6MPBs

The Stakeholder Group on Ageing Africa, in collaboration with African Union Commission and DESA hosted a virtual Pan African Webinar on the “United and Coordinated Africa for the Inclusion of Older Persons in COVID-19 Policy Response and Development Agendas.”