AGE Platform Europe Older Persons' Self Advocacy Handbook

One thing is to talk about promoting the human rights of older persons.
Another thing is to actually get involved and active in promoting these rights in real world.
One of the most important European (and global) NGOs which actually do ground work with promoting awareness and action in this field is AGA Platform Europe.
Here is its press release on the topic as well as the link to the handbook:

On 10 December, (2017) AGE launches the full version of its online 'Older Persons' Self-Advocacy Handbook', which empowers older people to better know their human rights and to claim them.

With this handbook, we aims to support the involvement of older persons in all processes that affect their human rights at the United Nations, Council of Europe and European Union levels. This publication describes concrete ways on how older people can refer to human rights to influence government policies and measures, so as to be empowered, as self-advocates and through their representative organisations, to voice their concerns and expectations and drive positive change in their everyday lives. It can also be used by different stakeholders, promotes a human-rights based approach in ageing policy at all levels.

Osnabrück Statement - Rights of Older Persons and Europe

Osnabrück Statement

The conference, Strengthening the Rights of Older People Worldwide: Building Greater European Support, brought together participants from 25 countries in Europe and worldwide on 5-7 December 2012 in Osnabrück Germany.

Over 100 representatives from older people’s organisations, human rights organisations, development organisations, national human rights institutions, UN experts, government officials, European Parliament, Council of Europe, as well as legal experts, researchers, academics and older people themselves affirmed that the rights of older people need to be strengthened globally and that new international human rights instruments are necessary.

Participants recognised that civil society and political support for a UN convention on the rights of older persons is increasing across Europe and globally.

The Conference made clear the following fundamental points regarding the human rights of older people:

 Politics has not kept pace with the realities of demographic ageing and it is time to rethink legislation, policies and societal attitudes to ageing.

 Age discrimination is a fundamental gap in existing human rights legislation.

 Older people’s rights are universal, yet the fragmented nature of international human rights legislation has allowed violations to take place and go unrecognised in all parts of the world.

 Existing international agreements on ageing, such as the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA), are not binding and not sufficient to protect the rights of older people.

 International human rights instruments, such as a UN convention on the rights of older persons, are needed to make the human rights system more effective at addressing violations of rights and discrimination in old age. They would do this by improving understanding of the rights of older people, strengthening reporting mechanisms and enabling better monitoring of UN Member States’ actions.

Participants at the Osnabrück Conference overwhelmingly recognised that political support within Europe is critical for achieving new international human rights instruments for older people and called upon European Governments and European Union institutions to do more to protect the rights of older people.

Endorsed by:

Age Action Ireland

Age International

AGE Platform Europe

Alicia de Jong-Davis

Alzheimer’s Association Münster e.V., Germany

The 2012 European Year for Active Ageing

2012 - European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations

The year is intended to raise awareness of the contribution that older people make to society. It seeks to encourage policymakers and relevant stakeholders at all levels to take action with the aim of creating better opportunities for active ageing and strengthening solidarity between generations.

What is active ageing?

Active ageing means growing old in good health and as a full member of society, feeling more fulfilled in our jobs, more independent in our daily lives and more involved as citizens. No matter how old we are, we can still play our part in society and enjoy a better quality of life. The challenge is to make the most of the enormous potential that we harbour even at a more advanced age. The European Year 2012 seeks to promote active ageing in three areas:
Employment – as life expectancy increases across Europe, pension ages are rising, but many fear that they will not be able to stay in their current jobs or to find another job until they can retire on a decent pension. We must give older workers better chances in the labour market.
Participation in society – retiring from one's job does not mean becoming idle. The contribution of older people to society as carers for others, typically their own parents or spouses and their grandchildren is often overlooked and so is their role as volunteers. The European Year seeks to ensure greater recognition of what older people bring to society and create more supportive conditions for them.
Independent living – our health declines as we grow old, but a lot can be done to cope with this decline. And quite small changes in our environment can make a big difference to people suffering from various health impairments and disabilities. Active ageing also means empowering us as we age so that we can remain in charge of our own lives as long as possible.

EU funding

How to promote active ageing in Europe - EU support to local and regional actors

Facts and figures

Eurobarometer Special Survey on Active ageing
Eurostat - A statistical portrait of the EU 2012: Active ageing and solidarity between generations