Two workshops on human rights of older people and citizens’ activism have been organised as part of the “Taking Action on Social Inclusion of Older People” project. The first was organised on the 4 June at Red Cross Paracin premises, and the second on 5 June in Krusevac. At the Krusevac workshop, in addition to older people from Krusevac, participants came from other cities too: older women and men from Cicevac and young Red Cross volunteers from Trstenik.

These workshops are part of the planned activities in the project and are a follow-up from the previous project that the Red Cross of Serbia implemented with support from European Union and HelpAge International. The workshops in the previous project were the first step in informing older people on their human rights. Now, through the new cycle of workshops older women and men are educated about concrete entitlements, including the right to social security, the right to health, the right to work, the right to lifelong learning, the rights of older women. Through these workshops older persons are motivated to become active in the society and participate in cultural, political and social activities of their local communities, as well as to advocate for the different issues relevant to improving the quality of life in their communities.

The workshops were moderated by Natasa Todorovic and Milutin Vracevic, Red Cross of Serbia Health and Care Programme Coordinators, who also coordinate the “Taking Action on Social Inclusion of Older People” project and the training materials were also shared with project partners who will implement similar workshops in their countries. These two workshops had 91 older persons participating and the planned number by the end of the project is 1,000.

“Taking Action on Social Inclusion of Older People” project is supported by European Union, Austrian Development Agency and Austrian Red Cross