ESU Extraordinary Congress

ESU Extraordinary Congress

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.” 

The Congress had a packed agenda

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.

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Events in 2021

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

1st October: United Nations International Day of Older Persons: ‘Digital Equity for All Ages’

Online

A message from our president on the occasion of the 1st of October: United Nations International Day of Older Persons (UNIDOP): ‘Digital Equity for All Ages’

A quarter of a century of active senior citizenship: we are grateful & celebrate

Madrid

25th anniversary of the ESU - ESU-Madrid-Congress 23-25 September 2021

‘Building the future together’

Madrid

Seniors focussing on EU's political priorities: ESU-Madrid-Congress 23-25 September 2021

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

Online

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

Some inspiring echoes from our member organisations of the past year

Online

Overview of the Country Reports at the Executive Committee on 3 July at our Summer Academy

2021 Summer Academy

Online

Online edition of ESU Summer Academy presenting most recent information about EU policies relating to the EU challenges for the future and to age & ageing

A European Health Union in the making? - Ensuring EU solidarity for a better healthcare for all

Video Conference

ESU-video Conference 20 April 2021, 11h00-12h30

Launch of the 2020 Annual Report

Online

For ESU too, 2020 was an unforeseen year, our annual report gives an overview of how we learned from this abnormal year and tried to overcome the obstacles.

Older persons and digital inclusion in today’s information society

Online

ESU-statement

The era of digitalization: from communication highways to disinformation and infodemic. Opportunities and potential risks

Video Conference

ESU Video Conference 23 March

Europe’s future: demographic challenges and opportunities for a strong recovery

Video Conference

Videomeeting with Mrs Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Democracy and Demography.

Drawing lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, to cope with future challenges for people and for the EU

Video Conference

The ESU organized its first video conference of 2021, with interesting speakers such as: Herman Van Rompuy, Hardy Ostry & Rolf Berend on a post COVID-19 Europe.