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SPEECH BY THE HON. LAWRENCE GONZI, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER FOR SOCIAL POLICY, ON THE OCCASION OF THE UNITED NATIONS EXPERT GROUP MEETING ON POPULATION AGEING AND DEVELOPMENT 29TH - 31ST OCTOBER 2001 – I.N.I.A. VALLETTA
pr1612
01/11/2001
01/11/2001
Ladies and Gentlemen,
| I welcome this opportunity to speak to you briefly at | the conclusion of the Meeting of Experts from diverse regions of the world to discuss the issues of population ageing and development with a focus on the poor in old age. |
| At the very outset, I would like to express my | gratitude to all the participating experts. Indeed it is appreciated that, in spite of your heavy commitments and responsibilities, you have gathered here, from near and far, for the last three days to discuss and formulate the lead-in issues in preparation for the next World Conference on Ageing. |
| I am fully confident of the outcome of this Meeting | and unreservedly envisage that your final recommendations and proposals will be crucial to the next stage of developments in the field of Ageing. |
| The Maltese Government is firmly and unreservedly | committed to the welfare of the family and to its continual and enhanced well-being. The Government has succeeded in bringing about a radical transformation from the Welfare State to the Welfare Society or, rather, the Caring Society, in which every social institution - be it the State, the Church, Non-Governmental and Voluntary Organisation, the Community, the Family, and last but not least, the individual citizen - show that they actually and altruistically care. |
| In pursuance of its awareness that the quality of | social services to people in need primarily depends on the competence and dedication of the care providers, the Maltese Government is doing its utmost to form and to train all those who are actually working or who intend to work in the field of the Aged. |
| I would like you to recall that after years of | perseverance and endeavour by the Government of Malta, the United Nations Assembly, at its 24th Session in 1969, adopted a resolution giving priority consideration to the question of the world's ageing population. Malta's sustained role in instigating the international community's concern about the gravity of this global phenomenon culminated in the World Assembly on Ageing, which took place in 1982 and which resulted in the formulation of the Vienna Plan of Action. Subsequently, in response to the worldwide need for research and training in the field of Ageing, as strongly recommended by the Plan of Action, the Maltese Government proposed to host the International Institute on Ageing in Malta. |
| Financed by the Maltese Government, which bears the | recurrent local costs, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Voluntary contributions, the Institute has through its training programme generated an increased awareness of, and preparedness for, global Ageing, especially within Developing Countries. It also serves as a practical bridge between and among developed and developing countries. |
| Ladies and gentlemen, three days of intensive work | are behind you. In today's world the outcome of medical interventions has often been expressed in terms of extended duration of life. On average, therefore, we live longer. But do we live better? There is nothing new about this dilemma. Way back, it was Jonathan Swift, essentially a satarist, who was nevertheless realistic in stating that every man desires to live long, but no man wished to be old. |
| Young people and elderly alike want to age gracefully | and, in retirement, we all look forward (at least myself personally) to an aggressive and active idleness. |
| But there is also another dimension to the issue that | you have been discussing – a dimension which needs to be stressed at this concluding session of your meeting here in Malta. It is a dimension that is enveloped by a guiding concept – that of inclusion. I believe that in all our efforts, we strive to live in a community and in a society that is an inclusive one. A community that values the individual person because of his or her dignity as a person. In other words, a community where everyone plays an important role. |
| This is not necessarily and exclusively an economic | role. It goes much further than that, in the sense that a society is strengthened if it is open to all whilst it is weakened if it sidelines any particular sector. |
| The aged fall within the sector which could be at | risk and we are therefore all called upon to do our utmost in order to develop and design policies that continue to improve the quality of life of our aged by keeping them fully integrated and active within our midst. |
| I trust that this objective will continue to | underline our efforts to develop a positive ageing population strategy which is dovetailed with the social, economic and cultural development in our countries. |
| In conclusion, I await with great anticipation the | result of this Meeting and to follow with interest the implementations of your deliberations. I am certain that the careful selection and gathering of such esteemed experts will result in a comprehensive report which will further our combined resolve to better the quality of life for the elderly. |
| All of us should strive to give the elderly the | attention they want and assure their full integration into their own Societies. Let us through our co-operative efforts, set the scene for our own future. |
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