Age Demands Action 2009: One around the world
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In the highlands of Ethiopia, ADA campaigners marched to raise awareness of older people's issues.
(c) Jeff Williams/HelpAge International
From the hills of Ethiopia to India's Thar desert, the global movement continued to expand in its third year. Age Demands Action now reached 42 countries with Haiti and Myanmar joining for the first time.
In 2009, ADA campaigners achieved real change for older people around the world. Here are just some of the highlights:
- In Fiji, a delegation of ADA campaigners met several cabinet members. Days later, campaigners found out that the cabinet had approved the drafting of a new National Policy on Ageing.
- In Nepal, campaigners met their president and came away with a promise that older people's rights would be included in the country's new constitution.
- In Kyrgyzstan, minister Gulnara Derbisheva met with an ADA delegation. She pledged to lobby parliament for an increase in the social pension for older people.
- In the Philippines, ADA leaders continued to lobby officials from the Department of Social Welfare and Development. This was vital in expanding the Social Protection Bill, meaning an extra five million people over 60 had access to a social pension.
One around the world
Age Demands Action is not just about meeting politicians to demand change. From mass marches and rallies to human chains and TV documentaries, campaigners of all ages come together on 1 October to show their commitment to older people's rights.
In 2009, campaigners from Colombia to Fiji raised their index finger at precisely 1pm. The raised finger is a mark of global solidarity, demonstrating support for Article 1 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights: All people are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
We received hundreds of photos from across the world, as you can see in the gallery above!
Watch the Age Demands Action 2009 video:
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