More than a thousand participants gathered the first Union meeting of senior citizens in Vitebsk

The first Union meeting of citizens of the older generation “We are for active longevity” started in Vitebsk. The event, which brought together more than a thousand participants, is held within the framework of the Union State, the correspondent of sb.by reports.

Among the participants were a delegation consisting of representatives of the older generation, silver volunteers from Belarus and Russia, experts and specialists in the fields of social protection, health, sports, culture and additional education, representatives of relevant departments, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia, the Standing Committee of the Union State.

The delegations are led by Minister of Labor and Social Protection of Belarus Andrei Lobovich and First Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection of Russia Olga Batalina.

The purpose of the Union meeting is to develop systematic measures and approaches for wider involvement of the older generation in public life, using its experience and, accordingly, identifying systemic ways to improve the well-being of older citizens, Andrei Lobovich emphasized.

Belarus was chosen as the first meeting point not by chance. Since 2021, the country has been implementing the “Active Longevity 2030” strategy. The meeting provides an excellent opportunity to share the best practices and successful experience of implementing this strategy, which we conduct for the older generation, the head of the department emphasized:

- Belarus has lifted restrictions on the ability of older citizens to participate in the labor market. Today, a working pensioner in Belarus does not lose the earned pension - it is paid in full. We see the older generation actively participating in society and socializing. More than a thousand councils of elderly citizens have been created in Belarus. More than 6 thousand people are involved in the “silver” volunteering teams: they help their peers in everyday matters, as well as share the knowledge and skills they possess. It is also important that today almost a third of older citizens are involved in physical education. This helps them stay active and healthy.

Andrey Lobovich also noted that the next three days will be filled with various events and dialogue platforms, where participants will be able to exchange experience and present the best practices of implementing the national strategies for active longevity of Belarus and Russia, and following the results of the meeting it is planned to adopt a resolution that will reflect the recommendations that experts will discuss:

- Having discussed this with our colleagues, we have already decided that such a gathering should become traditional and be held at least once every two years alternately on the territory of Belarus and Russia.

As the First Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection of Russia Olga Batalina emphasized, prolonging the active and healthy life of older citizens today is a national task for both Russia and Belarus:

- Therefore, the meeting, which is now taking place in the hospitable Vitebsk, can indeed become traditional in the future. The decision on the frequency and the next city, which will take it, will be taken on the last day, when it is expected to sign the resolution of the meeting.

Regarding the work carried out in the Russian Federation with the elderly, Olga Batalina noted that it was built on a national basis:

- In Russia, there is a national project “Family”, within the framework of which a separate project “Older Generation” is being implemented, as well as a Strategy for Action in the Interests of Older Citizens until 2030. In each of 89 regions of Russia, active longevity programs have been launched, and today 15.5 million older people take part in them throughout the country.

Of course, the work is carried out not only within the framework of these programs, the head of the Russian department added. There are quite serious guarantees for elderly citizens, the system of social services is developing, we are promoting our advanced project of a long-term care system, we continue the construction of new social hospitals, Olga Batalina noted

- We really have a lot to learn from each other. You saw that today began with a large-scale parade of citizens of the older generation – very bright and colorful. I am sure that such a combination of efforts and expert approaches, which will take place at the venues of the meeting, will allow us to make our national strategies even more successful. Social isolation and loneliness are one of the main factors in premature aging. Therefore, our task is to do everything to ensure that the older generation, which has made a huge contribution to the development of our countries, has decent conditions for an active and healthy life.

- We regularly hold joint boards, where we exchange innovations in social legislation, fine-tune our approaches and try to do everything to ensure that the legislation of our countries develops synchronously, so that the citizens of Russia and Belarus have symmetrical social guarantees on the territory of both countries. I would like to note that our approaches to supporting older citizens are already sufficiently synchronized.

The initiative of the meeting was supported by the heads of Belarus and Russia. The organizers are the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation. A rich three-day program includes various dialogue platforms on topical topics, a presentation of the state policy of Belarus and Russia in the interests of older citizens, the “Parade of Active Longevity Practices”, a fair-exhibition of products, master classes, exhibitions of participants’ works and demonstrations of collections of Belarusian and Russian manufacturers.