International Day of Older Persons
On December 14th, 1990, the United Nations General Assembly
(UNGA) declared October 1 as the International Day of Older Persons (IDOP).
This was preceded by the initiation of Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing
(VIPAA), adopted by the World Assembly on Ageing (WAA) in 1982 and approved by
the UN General Assembly later in the same year.
International Day of Older Persons is a global healthcare
event celebrated on the 1st of October every year that emphasises public
awareness with respect to challenges and opportunities that are associated with
ageing and mobilizes community organizations, families and stakeholders to aid
older people who are facing the challenges.
On this day, various international and national organizations
join together to conduct events, national surveys, social campaigns and other
awareness programmes and workshops to create awareness irrespective of the
well-being and dignity of older individuals.
This year 2023, the International Day of Older Persons Theme
is "Fulfilling the Promises of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
for Older Persons: Across Generations", a call to draw attention to the
unique needs of older people globally in terms of their rights and reporting violations,
in addition to fostering solidarity through equity and reciprocity between the
generations offers long-term solutions to fulfil the Sustainable Development
Goals' (SDG) promise.
Leo Ilanka Laksiri
Second year
Faculty of Arts
