Mannheim, Germany – April 3, 2025
At the 14th German Senior Citizens’ Day, AGE Platform Europe and its German member BAGSO brought together experts, policymakers, and advocates from across Europe to discuss ways to confront one of the most persistent and overlooked human rights issues in ageing societies: age discrimination. Held at the Congress Center Rosengarten, the European conference spotlighted growing concern over systemic ageism — and the urgency to respond with policy, practice, and global commitment.
Opening the event, Dr Regina Görner, President of BAGSO called for a societal shift: “We must stop seeing longevity as a burden and start treating it as the achievement it is.”
Nicole Zündorf-Hinte from the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs emphasised that with increased life expectancy, excluding older people from work and society is unsustainable if Europe is to remain competitive. She also expressed her wish that the conference discussions would feed into the work of the next German federal government.
The first panel set the legal and policy context, highlighting gaps in protection beyond employment. Susanne Knoefel of the European Commission noted ongoing work to mainstream age into equality frameworks, while Tatiana Puiu, Vice President of the Committee of Social Rights of the Council of Europe, emphasised the need for more countries to ratify key protections under the European Social Charter. AGE Platform Europe’s Secretary General, Maciej Kucharczyk, lamented the EU’s failure to adopt a long-stalled directive on equal treatment outside the workplace, calling it a missed opportunity.
Concrete solutions took center stage in Panel 2, where grassroots innovators showcased local efforts combatting ageism. Projects ranged from Elke Schilling’s presentation on the Silbernetz phone support for lonely seniors in Germany, to Angel Yagüe Criado’s explanation of the EU-wide age-friendly city toolkit and Alison Clyde’s highlight of the Intergenerational Week in Scotland. All stressed the need for cross-generational dialogue, local action, and sustained funding.
Institutional speakers in the final panel, including Desa Srsen from the European Commission, Alana Officer of the World Health Organisation and Ferda Ataman from Germany’s Anti-Discrimination Agency, underlined the importance of coordination across governance levels. The upcoming EU Strategy on Intergenerational Fairness and a new UN convention on the rights of older persons were hailed as crucial next steps. The adoption of the resolution of the UN Human Rights Council on the day of the event was celebrated as a huge milestone towards the adoption of such an international legally binding instrument.
Closing the event, Dr Heidrun Mollenkopf, President of AGE Platform Europe and Board member of BAGSO urged participants to take action:
Quote
Contact
