Support for Age Demands Action
A host of high profile supporters have joined the growing number of people calling for an end to age discrimination across the world.
They're supporting our Age Demands Action campaign because they believe that older people everywhere must be included in society as equal citizens with equal rights.
Desmond Tutu, 80, Archbishop and social justice campaigner
For over sixty years Archbishop Tutu has challenged injustice wherever he has seen it. A supporter of the campaign since 2008, in this video, Archbishop Tutu talks about Age Demands Action; why it is vital and how, by using the campaign, the voices of older people have "grown to a loud raw".
Albert Minott, 72, lead singer of the Jolly Boys
The video shows Albert Minott, lead singer of legendary Jamaican reggae band, The Jolly Boys talking about his support for Age Demands Action.
Rowan Williams, 61, Archbishop of Canterbury
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"One of the ways we can tell what a society is really like is by the way it treats its most vulnerable members, older people among them. "The International Day of Older People is an opportunity to remind ourselves of the contribution older people make to their families and communities and of how much we all benefit when we build and sustain a society that values all its members." |
Hugh Masekela, 71, South African trumpeter, composer and singer
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"Getting older doesn't mean you're worth any less than before. As an older man I'm still playing and recording music better than I've ever done. "The stereotype that older people become weak, worthless and a burden on society is not true. It forgets the millions of aged people who are working hard. |
"They're raising families, leading communities and offering experience to younger generations.
"I strongly support HelpAge International's Age Demands Action campaign which champions older people's rights and fights age discrimination.
"Age discrimination is misinformed and doesn't reflect the amazing contributions older people are making around the world today and will be making in generations to come."
More Age Demands Action supporters
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| Wole Soyinka, Nobel Laureate |
Min Bahadur Sherchan, the oldest person to climb Mount Everest |
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| Gcina Mhlope, South African actor, poet and storyteller |
Stephen Lewis, former UN Special Envoy |
International Day of Older People is an opportunity to remind ourselves of the contribution older people make to their families and communities...
Getting older doesn't mean you're worth any less than before. As an older man I'm still playing and recording music better than I've ever done.
Older persons are among the poorest and most marginalised in society today, but they offer an enormous potential for development tomorrow.
