Overview

Strengthening the voice and agency of older persons in decisions that affect them is essential to fulfil the 2030 Agenda’s pledge of leaving no-one behind. It is a key step in ensuring that ageing-related issues are accounted for in the design and implementation of policies across various sectors and levels. To support this, UNECE has issued a guidance note on the meaningful participation of older persons and civil society across the policymaking cycle. The guidance note makes the case for the participation of older persons and civil society in decision-making and advocates for long-standing engagement that genuinely shapes policies. It suggests some key steps to bring governments and civil society together and recommends tools to make the engagement of civil society actors and older persons meaningful. Some of the most important are: including older persons and civil society throughout the design, implementation and evaluation of policies; creating institutional bodies that involve older persons and civil society along with focal points from line ministries and various levels of government; facilitating the creation of older people’s groups and dedicated spaces for marginalized older persons; establishing channels between older persons, civil society, other relevant stakeholders and decision-makers; as well as building the skills of older persons to engage in policy processes. In addition, the guidance note showcases a variety of good practice examples from the UNECE region. It highlights cases of regular and systematic stakeholder engagement to inform ageing-related policy, as opposed to one-off consultations. Specific examples include annual stakeholder fora on policies impacting older persons in Ireland, which are attended by a variety of actors from government, local authorities, civil society, and older persons themselves. Key issue areas identified by the fora are picked up for action by the Department of Health, showcasing the direct impact of debates during the fora for policy steps and activities.