Online meeting Executive Committee about the upcoming ESU-Congress in Madrid

On Monday 23 August, the members of the ESU executive committee met online. It was a meeting with many familiar faces; with over 30 participants. The main goal: prepare for the ESU-Congress in Madrid, at a moment when there was still one month to go…

On the agenda: 

• Amendments to ESU-the statutes and voting on them;
• Discussion of amendments to the resolution on “The need of media and information literacy for all age groups” and agreement to submit the amended text to the Congress;
• Practicalities of the Madrid meeting (23-25 September), where we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the ESU, this means: a quarter of a century of active European citizenship, promoting and voicing the aspirations of senior citizens for inclusive, people-centred societies where no one is left behind.

The proposed amendments to the Statutes were approved, the main one being the extension of the term of office of the ESU Board to 5 years instead of 3 in order to coincide with EPP elections. These amendments will be presented at the next ESU-Congress in September and will be communicated through our website and social media. 

Regarding the amendments to the resolution, we had a fruitful lively discussion. This was all managed under the moderation of Mr. Heinz Becker. We thank him for his professional approach. All agreed on the importance of Media and Information Literacy for all to participate in today’s society. The ESU wants to promote appropriate initiatives for seniors, taking into account their educational history. “It is a matter of human rights” president An Hermans said. “When we recognize the right of all to grow old in dignity and participe in all areas of society, then we also have to guarantee the needed means to carry these rights out”  The members of the executive committee are ready to initiate actions on digital inclusion, in their own country and organize campaigns in this field, everything of course under condition that the resolution will be adopted in the Congress on 24 September 2021. In the meantime several members underlined that it is necessary to ensure everyone rights to participate in society online or offline and that governments have the responsibility om dit recht te bewaken.  It was further decided to create a press release in order to efficiently communicate the resolution to all relevant stakeholders. 

The participants were also given practical information for the Extraordinary Congress in Madrid on 23-25 September. They can still register for participation until 5 Sept. We would like to thank Carmen Quintanilla for the excellent cooperation. After more than 18 months this will be the first meeting ‘in person’.