_ Familiarize yourself with the Plan ¨C use the summary in Ageways or obtain the full version.
_ Summaries the Plan in newsletters, mailings or briefings to members, staff or volunteers.
_ Produce a poster or leaflet about the Plan and display it.
_ Hold a meeting of older people to brief them on their rights as stated in the Plan.
_ Encourage older people who went to Madrid to talk about their experience to other older people, the media, NGOs and government.
_ Record the views and experiences of older people who went to Madrid, and include these in advocacy materials.
_ Hold meetings with other NGOs, religious organizations and government officials, to brief them on the Plan.
_ Use the International Day of Older Persons (1 October) to publicize the Plan in your community.
_ Talk to the media or run a media workshop to present key parts of the Plan and testimonies of older people.
Influence policy development
_ Work with older people to link the Plan to local issues ¨C investigate areas of concern, such as violence and abuse, and look at how these are covered by the Plan.
_ Use the Plan as a framework to develop programmes to support older people and research into ageing.
_ Hold consultations with older people and others to plan an advocacy campaign aimed at getting local or national governments to achieve one or more of the objectives in the Plan.
_ Provide training and support to older people to use the Plan as a tool to lobby policy makers.
_ Arrange a meeting with government representatives who went to Madrid and other government officials at local or national level, to find out how they intend to follow up the Plan and monitor progress.
_ Hold meetings with senior decision makers to raise awareness of the rights of older people as set out in the Plan, such as those in charge of ageing and poverty reduction strategy processes.
_ Find out if there is a poverty reduction strategy process in your country, who is responsible for it, how much of the budget will be allocated to older people, how older people will participate in consultations and how they will benefit from the programme.
_ Collaborate with national governments and regional bodies to develop policies and programmes that incorporate the recommendations of the Plan.
_ Collaborate with UN regional agencies to draw up regional implementation strategies.
_ Support the establishment of national committees on ageing, including representatives of civil society, especially organizations of older persons, to advise governments on implementing the Plan.
_ Develop alliances with non age focused organizations and networks to encourage them to include older people in their development programmes.
Monitor implementation
_ Support older people's groups to monitor implementation (see plans by HelpAge International to develop a "citizen monitoring" project on p14).
_ Request meetings with relevant government departments to find out how they are monitoring implementation.
_ Network with other civil society organizations to compare progress and exchange experience.
"The governments are not the enemies, they are our children. We put them there and we can ask them to help."
Participant in the Madrid
NGO Forum
Useful quotes from the Plan
"The promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms including the right to development is essential for the creation of an inclusive society for all ages in which older persons participate fully and without discrimination and on the basis of equality." (Paragraph 14)
"Forward thinking calls us to embrace the potential of the ageing population as a basis for future development." (Paragraph 16)
"The struggle against poverty amongst older persons aiming towards its eradication is a fundamental aim of the Plan of Action on Ageing." (Paragraph 46)
"A necessary first step in successful implementation of the Plan is to mainstream ageing and the concerns of older persons into national development frameworks and poverty eradication strategies." (Paragraph 105)
Examples of follow-up
China National Committee on Ageing plans to publish a collection of documents including the International Plan of Action on Ageing, Political Declaration, statements of selected countries, UN agencies, and other international organizations in Chinese; host a national workshop on quality of life of older people; with UN ESCAP and Macao Government, sponsor a meeting in Shanghai to start developing a regional implementation strategy; and carry out a survey of the situation of poor old people in China to submit to the Chinese central government to influence policy-making.
Human and Financial Resources, Bolivia will organize a forum, "Older people: a challenge for the future" to review existing social policies and obtain political parties' commitment to implementing the Plan.
HelpAge International, Mozambique is setting up a "senior citizens group" to support the existing Third Age Forum to lobby for the inclusion of older people in national plans as a specific group. It is arranging a workshop to obtain feedback from older people and others who went to Madrid.
CAPIS Peru will disseminate information from the NGO Forum at a meeting with NGOs, government representatives, academics and older people who took part in the Forum. Similar, smaller-scale events will be held in many communities where gerontologists are working. As part of the Peru Consortium on Ageing and Development, CAPIS is also participating in assessing the process of decentralization by the Peruvian government and revision of the constitution, to ensure that ageing issues are included in development proposals.
Lao Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare is planning a workshop to launch a national committee on ageing and disseminate the results of the Madrid Plan.
HelpAge International will develop pilot citizen monitoring projects in several countries.
