Wisconsin Council on Forestry

OBJECTIVES:​

• IAGG Mission and Mandate at the UN: To enhance its visibility and to fulfill its mission on the world stage, IAGG needs a clear mission and mandate for its work at the UN, aligned to the IAGG mission set out in its By-laws (the mission of IAGG is to promote the highest level of achievement in gerontological research and training world-wide); and IAGG should chart long-term goals at the UN and plan strategies to achieve those goals.

• Strengthen IAGG- UN Relationship with other NGOs on Ageing: Effective IAGG action, and cooperation with other NGOs on the world stage at the UN, often requires flexibility and authority from IAGG Secretariat to its Representatives to move quickly.

• Solicit Input of IAGG Voices of Older Persons at the UN: To strengthen the visibility of ageing populations in societies across the world, the functional bodies of the United Nations continually seek the input and voices of older persons. IAGG, through the considerable reach of its Member Societies and professionals across the world, has an important role to play to represent the voices of older persons internationally.

• Include Input of IAGG Member Societies at the UN: The IAGG mission, agenda, and policy interventions at the UN should reflect the valuable perspectives of its IAGG Member Societies and professionals across the world.

• Promote Input of IAGG Gerontological and Geriatric Research at the UN: The IAGG Council should consider developing an IAGG policy arm to monitor, cull, and abstract research papers, news articles, and websites, to report research findings bearing on issues before the UN, and to transmit these directly to the UN Focal Point on Ageing or to the IAGG Representatives to the UN for transmission.

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HIGHLIGHTS:

• Four-Year Report of IAGG Representation and Activities at the UN (2013-2017): This Report was the result of a combined effort from IAGG Representatives to the UN Laura Machado, Martha Bial, and Hans Stohrer, with the review of IAGG Immediate Past Secretary-General/Vice-President Sung Jae CHOI. This Report was orally delivered by IAGG Representatives to the UN Laura Machado, Martha Bial, and Hans Stohrer to the governance meeting of the IAGG Council at the 21st IAGG World Congress in San Francisco on July 24, 2017. The Report contained the following five sections. Overview: Role of IAGG at the United Nations, Activities 2013-2017, Oral and Written Statements 2013-2017, Advocacy with other NGOs on Ageing at the UN, and Challenges and Recommendations.

• UN Representative Alain Franco attended the 2017 UNECE Ministerial Conference on Ageing in Lisbon, Portugal, concerning the future of human rights enjoyed by older people. The research declaration presented during the conference established a baseline for the future of IAGG and national societies’ activities in Gerontological and Geriatrics and gives strong avenues for future innovation.

• IAGG’s UN Involvement at the 56th Session of the Commission for Social Development:  IAGG’s UN representatives took part as participants and speakers at the 56th session. Pictured on the right is IAGG’s Secretary- General, Toni Antonucci, PhD speaking at the side-event titled “Ageism: A prejudice Against Our Future Selves”. Pictured above is one of IAGG’s UN Representative Heung Bong Cha, PhD raising important questions during the high level panel discussion on “The third Review and Appraisal of the Madrid Plan of Action on Ageing”.