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Final conference of the “Taking Action on Social Inclusion of Older People” project in Albania


04/02/2019

More than 80 participants took part on 29 January 2019 in Tirana at the final conference of the “Taking Action on Social Inclusion of Older People” (TASIOP) project. The conference was opened by Dr Alban Ylli, President of the Albanian Association of Geriatrics and Gerontology and the coordinator of MOSHA network, who also coordinated the TASIOP project in Albania. In his opening address he underlined the importance of such projects for Albania and the region. Natasa Todorovic and Dr Milutin Vracevic of the Red Cross of Serbia, who coordinated the project in the five countries of the region also participated in the conference.

Demographic ageing has reached Albania and the population pyramid changes, there are fewer younger and working people and with the ongoing migratory trends, it is important to think about adapting different systems to this reality. Projects such as TASIOP provide opportunities to influence public policy through research, advocacy and public campaigns in order to improve the quality of life of older people and create conditions for their full participation in the communities and the society.

Within the TASIOP project framework, more than 1,154 older people from across the country received education on human rights and citizens activism. The campaign for free public transportation for older people in Tirana is still ongoing and older women and men agree that this would increase the quality of their lives. MOSHA network members participated in creation of the action plan for preventive health 2017-2020 as well as in the campaign for improving mental health of older people. A national research on social and health needs of older people, and its results provide excellent foundation for advocacy activities.

Micro-projects implemented in Albania under the TASIOP umbrella were presented at the conference and good practice examples from these projects will, alongside the examples from other project countries will be published in a book at the end of the project.

Natasa Todorovic of the Red Cross of Serbia spoke about the TASIOP project achievements and the plans for the future – what the future advocacy and development goals will be, what needs to be improved and how. The important achievement of the project is regional cohesion as well as the obligation to continue with advocacy for better social inclusion of older people in the Western Balkans.

The conclusion of the conference is that it is necessary to continue working in all segments, because older people can not afford to wait.