On the eve of the launch of the European Year on Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations, the EY2012 Coalition presents its joint Manifesto and Road Map and urges all relevant actors at local, national and European level to seize the momentum of the European Year 2012 to commit to creating an age-friendly European Union that will allow everyone to live, learn, work and age with dignity.

"The EY2012 for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations is starting in a very difficult economic context,” states Anne-Sophie Parent, Secretary-General of AGE Platform Europe and coordinator of the EY2012 Coalition (*). “This unprecedented crisis makes it more urgent than ever to fundamentally review the way our society functions and to do our utmost to empower everyone, young and old, to contribute actively in the labour market and in their communities and to live independently for as long as possible".

The results of the recent Eurobarometer survey on Active Ageing reveal that most EU citizens acknowledge the important role played by people aged 55+ in key areas of society, recognizing that many of them wish to remain active as they age.

Austerity measures hit the most vulnerable in our society and many women above 50 suffer a double form of discrimination, in particular in access to employment, lifelong learning and equality of income and pensions. The EY2012 Coalition therefore urges decision-makers to tackle the gender dimension of demographic ageing, which is often underestimated.

The rise in life expectancy can offer many opportunities and can help address today’s societal challenges. However this is only true if we create the appropriate environment to support active and healthy ageing and greater solidarity and cooperation between generations.

In order to achieve their common objective of creating an age-friendly European Union by 2020, the Coalition has issued a Manifesto for an Age-Friendly European Union by 2020 which proposes a number of recommendations to the EU policy makers and to stakeholders at national and local level. A Stakeholders’ Coalition Roadmap detailing the Coalition’s commitments and action proposals to meet the goals of the EY2012 will also be presented at the EY2012 launch conference on January 18-19.

The EY2012 Coalition calls for the adoption of a European Strategy on Active Ageing and an age-friendly European Union, which includes:

• an inclusive labour market, that ensures the participation in paid work of younger and older people, supports the intergenerational knowledge transfer and enables workers to both maintain their health and reconcile their work and private lives;
• accessible goods and services that are adapted to the needs of all;
• setting up a gender sensitive EU Age-Friendly Environment Network;
• creating a European Covenant of Mayors on Active and Healthy Ageing or Demographic Change;
• adopting an EU programme on Seniors for innovation in support of active and healthy ageing.

• About the EY2012 Coalition
  The EY2012 Coalition is a growing network of stakeholders committed to working together to promote the objectives of the European Year and sharing their common goal of building a society for all ages where everyone is empowered to play an active part in society and enjoy equal rights and opportunities in all stages of their life regardless of age, sex, race or ethnic origin, religion or belief, social or economic status, sexual orientation, physical or mental condition, or need for care.
• List of the EY2012 Coalition members
• Official EU website of the EY2012
• Eurobarometer survey on Active Ageing
• EY2012 Manifesto for an Age-Friendly EU by 2020
• EY2012 Stakeholders' Coalition Roadmap
• EY2012 joint leaflet ‘European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations 2012: Everyone has a role to play!’
• Joint AGE-CoR Brochure ‘How to promote active ageing in Europe - EU support to local and regional actors’
• Eurochild is a network of 145 organisations and individuals working in and across Europe (35 countries) to improve the quality of life of children and young people. Eurochild's work is underpinned by the principles enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• For further information contact: Björn Becker (Information and Communication Officer) at bjoern.becker@eurochild.org or +32 (0)498 53 00 53

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