Causes

International Federation on Ageing

To inform, educate and promote policies and practice to improve the quality of life of older persons around the world

Beneficiary:

Donations to the cause benefit:

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION ON AGEING/FEDERATION INTERNATIONALE DE LA VIEILLESSEMENT A Canadian charity

Positions:

Work to alleviate older persons from the perverse effects of poverty, and support policies that encourage economic independence to the fullest extent
Promote policies and practices that enable older people to live healthy and active lifestyles
Raise awareness that older people may face abuse and neglect as part of their daily lives
Raise awareness about the extent to which ageism and age discrimination undermine a person's right to dignity and a quality of life
Improve the understanding about the fact that older women face a "triple jeopardy" due to their social and economic status

Category:

International

Description:

The International Federation on Ageing (IFA) is an international non-government organization (NGO) based in Montréal Canada. Founded in 1973, the IFA now represents the needs of 45 million older people in 62 countries world-wide, through our membership base of NGOs, the corporate sector, government and individuals.

The IFA mission is to “inform, educate and promote policies, programs and practices that improve the quality of life of older persons around the world.” To achieve this mission, we act as a voice for older people globally. It is responsible for building, facilitating and strengthening bridges between government, non-government and corporate sectors with interest in ageing issues. The IFA further works to strengthen those non-government organizations through collaboration on a common goal. Finally, the IFA works through improving understanding of ageing policies and practices and developing a base of information toward the goal of promoting change that positively affects the lives of older people in the present and into the future.

The IFA mission is important because we believe that irrespective of gender, race religion, health and economic status, all older persons have a right to a life of dignity, free from abuse and discrimination, and freedom from poverty, neglect, homelessness and malnutrition. The demographic of older persons in growing globally, making the mission of the IFA all the more urgent to meet our goals. Our current focus is on 5 key areas, as outlined in the 1991 United Nations Principles of Older People: Poverty, Health and Well-being, Abuse and Neglect, Discrimination and Ageism, and Gender.

The IFA has a global vision, and its membership and contacts reflect this. The Board of Directors is highly multi-cultural, and the list of organizations affiliated with the IFA is more-so. The IFA holds General Consultative Status at the United Nations in New York, Consultative Status with the Council of Europe in the European Union, has Operational Status at UNESCO and the International Labour Organization and has Official Relations with the World Health Organization (WHO). Our beliefs reflect the principles of such international agreements as the United Nations Principles of Older People, the Montréal Declaration on the Rights of Older People and the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing.

The IFA has achieved success in its mission to improving the lives of older people, through the active organization and participation in international conferences and the publication of research. The IFA is diligently working to have even more successes in the future, continuing its studies and conferences. Our current efforts will be culminating next September with the 9th GLOBAL CONFERENCE ON AGEING and EXPO AGEING & DESIGN Montréal 2008.

For further information about the IFA and our other activities, please visit our website at www.ifa-fiv.org