juliana louceiro

The International Day of Older Persons was proclaimed in Resolution 45/106 adopted by the UN General Assembly on 14 December 1990. Improvements in living conditions and advances in medicine have contributed to a high increase in average life expectancy in most countries of the world. United Nations studies indicate that, by 2050, the number of older adults will double. The big increase will take place in Asian and African countries, as in European and North American countries this is a change that is already taking place. The International Day of Older Persons is a day to celebrate the value of older adulthood to our societies, highlighting its important contributions to the whole community. For the 2022 International Day of Older Persons, the United Nations focused on the female gender. Thus, they chose the following as their objectives: To highlight the resilience of older women in the face of environmental, social, economic and lifelong inequalities To raise awareness of the importance of improved world-wide data collection, disaggregated by age and gender To call on member states, UN entities, UN Women, and civil society to include older women in the center of all policies, ensuring gender equality as described in the Secretary-General’s report, Our Common Agenda[1]. In GreenerAge, we value older adults contribution to tackle the climatic and environmental changes. Our desk research and interviews showed that adults 55+ are willing to change behaviour, but often do not know what to do or how. We are now developing the learning platform where tools and materials will be available that will help making this change to a greener behaviour! [1] https://gicpensioners.com/news.php?id=474

SHINE 2Europe and Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Seia have formalized their collaboration in international projects, especially aimed at older adults. Currently and during the next two years, professionals and clients of Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Seia will participate in the international greenerage project, at SHINE’s invitation, to together promote the involvement and training of 55+ adults in combating climate change and reducing the environmental impact on their day-to-day life. GreenerAge is an Erasmus+ project led by Finland, with partners from Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Portugal and which will develop a digital learning platform to improve the environmental and digital literacy of people over 55. Interactive tools and content will be available on this platform, a compendium, a manual for trainers and policy recommendations on the subject. Portugal’s official partner in this international consortium is SHINE 2Europe, a company from the center region that aims to promote more inclusive communities. Its CEO, Carina Dantas, says “it is very important to involve civil society entities, such as Misericórdia de Seia, in innovative projects, and to establish bridges with regions of the interior of our country, which is so often underrepresented. Research cannot be stuck in books or institutions; it has to reach the citizens. The Misericórdia team is very dynamic and we are excited to strengthen this collaboration in this project and others to come. Also associated partners of this project in Portugal are the Order of Engineers (Delegation of the Center) and ITECONS. The Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Seia, in the person of its Ombudsman, Paulo Caetano, understands that these types of projects and partnerships are very important, because they develop skills and knowledge at various levels, from the beneficiaries – people over 55 years – and at the same time, the employees of the Institution, in order to promote literacy on climate change and environmental awareness. In the next two years, Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Seia will contribute to this project through the realization and advice of content planning, feedback about the content in different phases, support in conducting workshops and interviews and gathering opinions and needs of users.