The eighth event under the theme of ‘Talking about the Human Rights of Older Persons’ took place as an online roundtable on June 23, 2022 with the members of the European Center for Social Welfare Policy and Research (hereafter ‘European Centre’). The European Centre was established in 1974 in Vienna, Austria and is an intergovernmental institution, affiliated to the United Nations. It designs, coordinates and implements (research) projects and aims to foster cooperation and coordination in welfare policies among governments. The European Centre conducts evidence-based research on social welfare policy concerning social inclusion and integration, labour market and social security and the ageing society. It possesses key competences in the fields of long-term care for older people, health services and public health.

​The roundtable was held to discuss the two important reports that the European Centre published recently, which are titled ‘Social Isolation and Loneliness among Older Persons in Europe’ and ‘Towards a Rights-based Approach in Long-term Care’. Four authors of these two papers, Dr Kai Leichsenring, Executive Director, Veronica Sandu and Eszter Zólyomi and Magdi Birtha took part in the roundtable and made presentations on their respective papers: Veronica Sandu and Eszter Zólyomi gave a presentation on the first paper, and Magdi Birtha gave a presentation on the second paper, whose main author she is. Each presentation was followed by a general discussion.

​The event was chaired by Hae-Yung Song, General Secretary of AGAC. Dr Hye Kyung Lee, the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of AGAC, Emeritus Professor of Social Welfare at Yonsei University, took part in the roundtable as a key discussant. Dr Hye Kyung Lee and Dr Kai Leichsenring also delivered brief welcoming and introductory remarks on AGAC and the European Centre respectively.  

 Topics:

Social Isolation and Loneliness among Older People in Europe

Towards a Rights-based Approach to Long-term Care in Europe

Chair: Hae-Yung Song (AGAC)

Participants: 

Hye-Kyeong Lee (AGAC)

Kai Leichsenring (EuroCenter_SWPR)

Veronica Sandu (EuroCenter_SWPR)

Eszter Zólyomi (EuroCenter_SWPR)

Magdi Birtha (EuroCenter_SWPR) 

Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/YTSjqqNYEkA