Browse Ageing Policies

The National Dementia Action Plan aims to make Denmark dementia-friendly, provide personalized care, and actively support relatives. The plan focuses on prevention, early intervention, and research to improve the quality of life for people with dementia and their families. The plan was developed through a broad and inclusive process involving the Danish government, local municipalities, citizens with dementia, their relatives, and various experts and professionals. The plan targets people with dementia, their families, healthcare professionals, and local authorities across Denmark. It aims to create dementia-friendly municipalities and improve the quality and consistency of care nationwide. The plan includes three main objectives: 1. Making Denmark dementia-friendly with 98 dementia-friendly municipalities. 2. Ensuring more people with dementia are diagnosed and receive the care they need. 3. Reducing the use of antipsychotic medications by 50% by 2025. The action plan outlines five focus areas: 1. Early detection and better quality in investigation and treatment. 2. Improved quality in care, support, and rehabilitation. 3. Support and advice for relatives. 4. Creating a dementia-friendly society and housing. 5. Increasing knowledge and competence in dementia care. From 2016 to 2023, significant steps have been taken to promote health, prevent dementia, and improve care. The action plan has led to the establishment of dementia-friendly municipalities, improved diagnostic rates, and efforts to reduce antipsychotic medication use. The implementation of these measures aims to reduce geographical disparities and enhance the quality of life for people with dementia.

The "Service Centre 'Education and Learning for Older Persons'" was introduced in 2017 in Germany and is managed by the German National Association of Senior Citizens' Organisations (BAGSO). Implemented at the national level, this project targets older people to provide them with access to educational opportunities and support multipliers in educational work through qualifications in educational gerontology. The project aims to empower older persons by enabling lifelong learning and promoting active participation in society as they age. Key measures include operating a service telephone and the internet portal Wissensdurstig.de, which provides a wealth of useful materials, good practice examples, and online workshops. The portal serves as a comprehensive resource for older persons seeking educational opportunities and for educators specializing in gerontology. Additionally, the service centre provides information on various educational topics, supports the development of local learning opportunities, and fosters networking among educational providers to enhance the quality and accessibility of education for older persons.

The Active Ageing Strategy, led by Slovenia's Ministry of Labour, Family Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, addresses demographic change and ageing. It's a cross-sectorial strategy focusing on older age groups, based on four pillars: - Labour market and education: This pillar aims to increase the employment rate and the quality of work of older workers, enhance their skills and competencies, and foster lifelong learning and intergenerational cooperation. - Independent, healthy and safe living for all generations: This pillar aims to improve the health and well-being of the older population, to prevent and reduce the risk of poverty and social exclusion, to ensure adequate and sustainable pensions and long-term care, and to enable independent and dignified living in a suitable and accessible environment. - Participation in society: This pillar aims to encourage the civic, cultural, and social engagement of the older population, to recognize and value their contributions and potentials, and to strengthen their role in decision-making processes. - Creation of an environment conducive to activity throughout the life course: This pillar aims, for example, to raise awareness and change attitudes towards ageing and older persons. The strategy will be implemented until 2030.

The Strategy for long-term social and health care in the Slovak Republic is the framework that aims to develop a long-term social and health-care strategy for adults in Slovakia, addressing specific overlaps with children and youth care. The strategy is a collaborative effort involving the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic (MZ SR), the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic (MPSVR SR), and the Association for the Protection of Patients' Rights (AOPP). The policy focuses on the adult population requiring long-term care, with implications for all target groups. It covers national-level health-care and social services sectors. The document proposes a participatory consultation process, evidence-based findings, patient and public input, and expert knowledge to shape public policy. It emphasizes the need for intensive cooperation between health and social care sectors. The strategy aims to inform qualified professional discussions and future action plans, including legislative amendments and a separate law on long-term care. However, the action plan's development was hindered by a lack of cooperation between ministries. The strategy was to result from a participatory process from 2017 to 2019, but the action plan's implementation has been indefinitely postponed due to the absence of inter-ministerial collaboration.

The policy document “The programme on adult education within lifelong learning” was introduced in 2017, updated in 2022, and is ongoing. It aims to provide continuous education opportunities for all adults to enhance their professional and social skills, addressing the need for lifelong learning in a rapidly changing socioeconomic environment. The policy is implemented at the national level, with the Ministry of Education and Research and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection as the lead entities. The policy targets all adults, including older persons, ensuring their access to education regardless of age. Key features include the establishment of formal, non-formal, and informal educational programmes, the adaptation of training to market needs, and the use of modern technologies. The policy also mandates that training providers must be accredited and adhere to quality standards, ensuring that participants gain recognized qualifications. The policy outlines various sources of funding for adult education, including tuition fees, external project funding, donations, and other legal revenues.

The Action Plan on the implementation of the active ageing principle for the years 2018–2021 aims to integrate the issues of ageing into the general and sectoral development policies in order to promote the rights, interests, and well-being of older persons. The policy is cross-sectorial and involves the collaboration of various ministries and central administrative authorities, local public authorities, the National Commission for Population and Development, and civil society organisations. It covers the whole population of the Republic of Moldova, with a special focus on older persons aged 50 and over, who represent about 20% of the total population. Some of the key objectives are: - To ensure adequate social protection and financial security for current and future generations of older persons, by reforming the pension system, and improving social assistance and services. - To improve the health and well-being of older persons, by integrating the ageing perspective into the health policies and services and enhancing the prevention and management of chronic diseases and functional limitations. - To promote lifelong learning and education for older persons, by expanding the opportunities for formal and non-formal education. - The law was approved in 2017 and implemented between 2018 and 2021.

The "Pasinaudok galimybe" ("Take the Opportunity") campaign was initiated by the Lithuanian Employment Service in 2017 and funded by the European Social Fund (ESF), ran until 2021. This initiative, implemented at the national government level in Lithuania, specifically targeted unemployed individuals over the age of 54, aiming to improve their skills and increase their chances of securing employment. Key measures included providing tailored vocational training programs, offering travel allowances, and paying stipends during the training period. By June 2023, the project exceeded its target with 15,558 participants involved in the ESF activities. Of those who completed the training, 44.56% gained new qualifications, surpassing the expected 42%. Furthermore, 63% of the participants who completed the program successfully transitioned into employment or started their own business, exceeding the initial target of 35%.

The "Law 205/2017 (2018) - State Budget Law - Articles 254-256 - informal care" was introduced in 2017, as part of the Italian State Budget for 2018. The provisions related to informal care were implemented at the national level in Italy by the Italian government through the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies, in collaboration with local municipalities and social welfare organizations. It provided the Italian legal system with a first form of recognition for the activity of caregivers and unpaid care work and established the fund for the support of the role of family caregivers in care and assistance. It targets retirees, pensioners, and older persons who require social and healthcare support, especially those at risk of poverty or social isolation. Key features include adjusting pension eligibility based on life expectancy, with specific exemptions for workers in strenuous jobs, and providing tax incentives for foundations supporting community-based long-term care initiatives. The law also enhances social security measures for groups such as war veterans and politically persecuted individuals and supports public-private partnerships to develop integrated long-term care services, combining healthcare, social services, and community support.

The Digital Fit training program aims to prepare trainers for the unique challenges of teaching older persons. This advanced training course offers a specialized upgrade for trainers in the niche of education a rapidly growing target group of older persons who is very heterogeneous in terms of their prior knowledge and educational needs. These include challenges, such as the need to combine the didactic tools of geragogy (“pedagogy of old age”) and the subject-specific didactic aspects of IT training. The course started in 2017. The course is supported by Ministry of Social Affairs. The target group is adult educators and program developers specializing in computer training for senior citizens. The course has 60 teaching units including an introductory and information event, three days of attendance, six webinars, in between, online phases on Moodle and practical project in self-organization. It has a cost of 100 euros with special price subsidized by the Ministry of Social Affairs, excluding meals.

A Federal Senior Citizens Advisory Board (Bundesseniorenbeirat) was set up in 2017 at the Federal Ministry for Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection (BMSGPK) and has representations of all Ministries. The aim of the Federal Senior Citizens Advisory Board is to provide a platform for institutionalized and effective dialogue between policymakers and senior citizen organizations' representatives on age-related issues of general significance for Austria, the integration of older persons as well as intergenerational relations. The Federal Senior Citizens Advisory Board represents several senior citizens' organizations, consisting of about three thousand local groups throughout Austria. The Board has two annual meeting with all relevant stakeholders and follow up different tasks. The Federal Senior Citizens Advisory have been established not only at federal level, but also in all of Austria's Laender and in many municipalities. While the central state is responsible for framework legislation, Austria's federal system largely leaves the enactment of regulations and delivery of public services to each of the nine Federal States, hence some states can be more active than others.