What's happening in 2009?

Hundreds of older people, celebrities, students and activitsts will attend a rally in Dhaka at the Shaheer Minar monument where a delegation will meet with the Minister for Social Welfare.

Older People's groups from Dhaka, Munshigoni and Gazipur, and Narshingi have been directly involved in preparing the activities and policy asks to government. Requests for action include:

• To increase the Old Age Allowance (OAA) to 500 Taka per month from the present 300 Taka per month.

• ID cards to be provided for older people so they can get concessions on public transport and in hospitals. 
• Include older people’s health in the National Health Policy and begin with older people representatives being included in national dialogues on the draft policy.
• In order to ensure proper health care, separate space in all government hospitals should be provided for the care of older people.
• Include ageing issues in the primary and higher school curriculum so future generations are aware of the challenge and opportunities of ageing.

These asks will be presented by a delegation including:

• Monica Palma, 63 from Kotbhadun village in Gazipur: Monica started working as a tailor and has now received training from an NGO in tie-dying clothes. She also provides training to the young girls and women of the community. She has been an activist on ageing issues for some time and was involved in the national level pre budget discussion with the government, facilitated by RIC. There she highlighted the need to increase the Old Age Allowance (OAA) for widowed older women.
  
  Monica says: "older people themselves can improve their life by getting united and raising their demands to the authorities. I think older people issues are hardly   discussed in our national political agenda. It is still an ignorant issue in national policy."

Tofazzal Hossain, 63, from Choto Boxonagar, in Dhakar district: Tofazzal is a health practitioner who provides free health treatment to the older people of his village. He is a passionate poet and raises ageing issues in the songs he produces. He is an active member of the national older people’s committee where he can take his experience of ageing issues at village level right up to national decision makers.

Dr. Shah Mohammad Keramat Ali, 65, Professor Clinical Nutrition, Institute of Nutrition and food Science:         
Professor Keramat Ali, 65, is recently retired from the Nutritional Department of Dhaka University.  He is actively involved in health for all movements in Bangladesh. He is president of the Boyosko Kallyan Paridhad (Social welfare organisation for the elderly) and has supported RIC’s ageing programme for many years.

Professor Muzaffer Ahmed, 72, Dhaka
Muzaffer Ahmed, is an economist educated in Dhaka, Paris and Chicago and has been a teacher at Dhaka University since 1957. He has contributed to the work of UNESCO, UNICEF, the UNDP and the World Health Organisation, to name but a few. Alongside his academic achievements, he is a social activist, chairing numerous organisations such as Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) and the UN Association of Bangladesh.

Abdul Baten, 77, News Editor, The Daily Ittefaq: Mr Baten is a renowned journalist in Bangladesh. He works on “The Daily Ittefaq", one of Bangladesh's leading newspapers, as news editor. He has been a long-time supporter of RIC and passionately believes that newspapers can play a vital role in changing attitudes towards older people. Mr Baten will use his position to write articles on older people's rights.

Signed petitions will be handed to the Minister of Social Welfare and the activists will be supported by three reknowned local celebrities: author and poet Asad Chowdhury, Actress Dilara Zaman and human right activist and lawyer, Sultana Kamal.

Other activities include an awareness raising talk show due to be aired on 29 September entitled: "our thoughts on older people", and on 1 October, an organised demonstration in support of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights will be held where older people will raise their index finger in unison.

What happened in 2008?

A delegation of older people met with key national level parliamentarians at a round table meeting in Dhaka.

In addition to national level discussions, the delegation met with directors of organisations working directly with older people, and with union representatives in the local area.

As a result of the meetings:

• The Ministry of Social Welfare has agreed to establish a desk on ageing issues within the ministry, and to set up six centres where older people and their dependants may live.
• The Department of Social Services has agreed to appoint three new directors, one of whom will be dedicated specifically to ageing issues.