Within the framework of “Taking Action on Social Inclusion of Older People”, the Red Cross of Serbia continues with the education workshops focusing on human rights and citizen activism, so on Tuesday 4 September at the Red Cross of Pirot premises a workshop was organised for 48 older women and men from Pirot and Dimitrovgrad.

The older participants of the workshop were informed about different rights and the mechanisms that help exercise them but also listened to presentation of cases where older people had their rights violated and how they acted – typically by petitioning institutions that then reacted in line with their authority and protected older people’s human rights.

Older people also had examples from their own communities that they shared with the group, but also asked questions. A specific issue for this group, mentioned by several participants is telemarketing telephone calls and sale of products or services via telephone or the internet – as these are often jst fronts for fraudulent activities purposefully targeting older people. The participants of the workshop think that this is a burning issue that demands a quick solution by the authorities so that older people can be safe and protected from this form of financial abuse.

The workshop was moderated by the Red Cross of Serbia associates Natasa Todorovic and Dr Milutin Vracevic. “Taking Action on Social Inclusion of Older People” project is supported by the European Union, Austrian Development Agency and Austrian Red Cross and Coordinated in five countries of the Western Balkans region by the Red Cross of Serbia.