The Taking Action on Social Inclusion of Older People project implementation has reached its mid-point so a mid-term review is being organised in Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania. This review is supported by Austrian Red Cross at regional level.

As part of the review activities. on 1 November 2017 a focus group meeting was organised with representatives of ministries, institutions and organisations working in the field of ageing that the Red Cross of Serbia and HumanaS network have cooperated for a number of years.

The discussion at the meeting had two directions: policies and services targeting older people and participation of HumanaS network and the Red Cross of Serbia in initiatives to improve the quality of life of older people. Through a moderated discussion the participants contributed to defining recommendations on how to improve and enrich older people’s lives in the future. Issues were discussed related to capacities of the institutions for accommodation of older people as well as the problem of sustainability of social protection services for older people. The discussion also touched on how to motivate older people to be more active in social life as well as on the problem of “mobbing” related to older people: the pressures related to their free time as well as meeting the basic needs of those who are functionally dependent or have mobility issues.

The most important conclusion reached is that the diversity of this age group – more pronounced than in any other age group –provides a wide spectrum of options for HumanaS network to act. Among other things, network members were asked to talk about their expectations, the significance of the network for them as well as the roles each of the members needs to fulfil in order to make the functioning of the network more efficient.