Our ESU was welcomed in Cyprus
Cyprus
the ESU president and secretary general were invited to cyprus for talks on the occasion of the UNIDOP, digitalisation and much more
ESU-Madrid-Congress 23-25 September 2021
The celebration of the 25th anniversary of the ESU in Madrid was coupled with an Extraordinary Congress. It took place on 24th September in the afternoon. Our president An Hermans opened the afternoon session with hopeful words for a future-oriented ESU: “Standing together and looking in a same direction, we can build a strong, resilient and sustainable future: without discrimination, without ageism & in solidarity.”
We started with the amendments to the ESU Statutes and Rules of Procedure. These have had a long preparation and discussion through several meetings since the Sandanski Congress in 2019. The presentation of the proposed changes for the ESU Executive Committee, questions from the delegates & the final vote on the changes, all this was prepared and moderated by our Secretary General Guido Dumon. One of the changes affecting the functioning of the ESU is the shift in the timing of the election of the Presidency. Until now this was done every 3 years. It was unanimously decided to hold the elections every 5 years from now on. This means that the current presidency will continue until 2024. Any changes to the statutes will be incorporated into the current statutes and posted on the website.
Following various activities and discussions on ‘digital transformation’ and its impact on seniors, ESU has drafted a resolution on: “Towards an active and competent participation of all in resilient digital societies: THE NEED OF MEDIA AND INFORMATION LITERACY FOR ALL AGE GROUPS”. We call on governments and stakeholders to create equal opportunities for all when it comes to access and literacy, but we also have a role to play. We can create opportunities, create formal and informal learning facilities to promote digital equality for all.
We were glad that Patrick Penninckx, Head of Media and Information Society (Council of Europe) commented on the resolution and congratulated the ESU for highlighting the digital divide increasing with age, and for calling on policy makers at all levels to ensure digital inclusion as a cornerstone of digital citizenship. He emphasised the importance of digital literacy in relation to human rights, which is his field of expertise. It was a fruitful cooperation and gathering.