The 2018 HelpAge Asia-Pacific Regional Conference was held in Tehran, I.R. Iran, from 23-25 October 2018. It was co-hosted by the State Welfare Organization of the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labour and Social Welfare of the Islamic Republic of Iran; the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); and HelpAge International. Additional support was provided by Age International; the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP); and the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD).
The conference has “Family, Community and State in Ageing Societies” as its theme. The premise of the conference is that demographic ageing is having profound impact on societal dynamics in Asia, and the functions of the family (traditionally assumed to be responsible for older people), communities and governments are changing rapidly, but often without sufficient reflection. We need to re-examine the roles of these three key parties – how they can reinforce each other and how they relate with older people themselves, who are increasingly independent for longer periods in old age.
A total of 334 people participated from 26 countries and included representatives from governments, UN and other international bodies, civil society organisations and academia. Participants from Iran represented 21 organisations.
Please visit the conference website for more details on conference programme and presentations.
