Older Persons in Family and Society

“Older Persons in Family and Society”, a subject display timed to the International Day of Older Persons, runs in the documents of international organizations hall (207g), from October 1 to November 13.

This Day was announced by the 45th UN General Assembly (resolution 45/106) on December 14, 1990, and is observed annually, on October 1.

According to world statistics, our society inevitably grows old. For example, each tenth person was 60-year-old in 2002, and by 2050 this ratio will be already one to five. It is expected that a third of the world's population will be people over 60 years by 2150.

A significant increase in the number of elderly people require a serious revision of their role in society and attitude to them in general.

In 1982, the First World Assembly on Ageing took place in Vienna, and the International Plan of Action on Ageing was adopted. In 1991, h General Assembly adopted the United Nations Principles for Older Persons (resolution 46/91), and the Proclamation on Ageing in 1992.

In 2002, the Second World Assembly on Ageing in Madrid adopted the Political Declaration and the International Plan of Action on Ageing which strengthened political consensus on aging, paying special attention to the development, international cooperation and assistance in this area. The aim of the Madrid International Plan of Action was to guarantee safety and dignity for older persons all over the world, and enable them to participate in society as equal citizens.

In Belarus, the Day of Older Persons was proclaimed by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Belarus on September 21, 1992 № 1825-XII. Our country has a system of state-guaranteed measures to ensure life and full participation of older people in society. This includes a set of privileges, guarantees of social support and state programs. The legal framework, established in the republic, determines the state policy in dealing with the elderly.

According to the UN classification, the population is considered old if the proportion of persons aged over 65 years is 7% or more. In our country the proportion of the population aged over 65 years is now 14.7% of the total population.

At the beginning of 2017, 2,403,488 people older than working age lived in Belarus. It makes 25.3% of the total population, which is 1.9% more than at the beginning of 2016.

The offered book exhibition aims to attract the reader's attention to the problems of the elderly, their individual and social needs, and to increase public awareness of the problem of demographic ageing.

The exposition includes the sections as follow:

• International instruments aimed at the implementation of all human rights and fundamental freedoms of older persons.
• Participation of older persons in economy, policy and society.
• Medical care, support and social protection of the elderly.
• Demographic ageing: statistics.
• Older persons in Belarus.

About 70 publications are on display: the documents of international organizations (UN, UNESCO, European Union, Council of Europe etc), books and periodicals in the Russian and English languages.

The exhibition is designed for sociologists, members of various state bodies, social workers, teachers and students of higher educational institutions, as well as all those interested in contemporary social and demographic problems.

The opening hours of the exhibition correspond to the library’s opening hours.
Admission is by library card or by ticket of the library's social and cultural center.