| Abstract: | This is the keynote address of H.E.Dr. Vincent Tabone, President of Malta, at the International Conference on Aging, which was held in San Diego in September 1992. He states that the conference celebrates the tenth anniversary of the Vienna International Plan of Action, and provides an opportunity to evaluate progress and plan future direction. Dr. Tabone, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, first introduced the question of aging at the UN General Assembly over twenty years ago; the United Nations Secretariat established its first program in the field of aging in 1970. At the World Assembly on Aging in 1982, all members adopted the International Plan of Action, which defined guidelines for policies and programs in support of the aging populations. As a direct result of this, and in support of the needs of developing countries, the UN signed an agreement with the government of Malta that established the International Institute on Aging as an autonomous body under the auspices of the UN; it is the major expression of the Vienna Plan of Action. Concern for aging populations has developed enough maturity and momentum to oversee its own progress. Although current events may relegate the social and economic implications of the aged to the sphere of rhetoric, they demand thinking in terms of generations and transcend all political boundaries. This conference will evaluate progress toward deflecting a situation where the elderly constitute an increasing proportion of the population, without adequate and appropriate provision for their livelihood, and could have direct bearing on encouraging and ensuring the continuity of the family's vital and traditional role in preserving the dignity, status, and well-being of its aging members. A nation which begrudges its dues to the elderly, the successful products of society and triumphs of life, denies its past. This conference is a reaffirmation of commitment to the United Nations Principles for Older Persons, an omen of the review of the Global Targets on Aging for the year 2001 by the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session in October, and a stepping stone in the path toward integrating the elderly more fully into the mainstream of society. The year 1992 is a year for solidarity between the generations. |
