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ing services for the elderly. This has been accompanied
by a rapid development of new scientific
disciplines and respective activities on the political
arena.
An increasing number of researchers tackle the
issues related to preparing citizens for retirement
and old age, looking to creative activities or various
forms of satisfying their needs in the realm of
culture, education and social communication. Gerontology
is the study of the social, psychological
and biological aspects of ageing focusing also on
the cultural, social, political and economic aspects
of this phenomenon. Gerontology investigates
practically all facts, conditionings and aspects of
ageing and old people in order to find out about
the ageing process. Old age is an intricate process
and as such it is difficult to be studied within
the realm of a single scientific discipline. Gerontology
collaborates with many natural and social sciences:
biology, medicine, psychology, sociology,
social policy, demography, economics and pedagogy.
Its integral parts include social gerontology,
geragogy and gerontopedagogy.
Social gerontology investigates the social
causes and consequences of ageing societies, the
psychological conditioning of individual ageing,
social attitudes to the aged, their position in the
society, lifestyles and types of activity. Social gerontologists
discuss prophylaxis of old age diseases
and devise programmes to care, assist and serve
the elderly within the social policy. Geragogy investigates
the processes of educating and learning
among the aged. On top of pedagogy and andragogy,
it investigates a certain education cycle of
an individual in the developmental system. Both
social gerontology and geragogy are aimed at increasing
human vitality and maximising satisfaction
and joy at the late stages of life.
Science offers knowledge on ageing and old
age, underlying the social policy and programmes
for educating professionals in various disciplines
working for the benefit of elderly people, geriatricians,
social gerontologists, gerontopsychologists,
geriatric nurses, social workers, social caretakers,
educators and many other.
The contemporary social policy on the elderly
is becoming an increasingly important area of
the European Union’s social policy. Actions taken
as part of this policy are to comprehensively
compensate for elderly people’s stifled ability to
independently satisfy biological, psychological
and social needs. The United Nations have put
forward a number of recommendations on the
desirable development of policy on the elderly.
In 1990, the UN pronounced 1 October the International
Day of Older Persons while in 1993 the
United Nations General Assembly declared 1999
as the International Year of Older Persons. The
UN conducted several actions under the banner
‘towards a society for All Ages’, which served as
the theme for IYOP, resulting in various constructive
debates about the problems of the aged. The
years 1991–2000 were proclaimed the Decade of
Older Persons.
The European Union has also dealt extensively
with the situation of elderly people. Back in the
1980s, social resolutions were made with respect
to the situation and problems of the aged (1982)
and services for the elderly and EU grants for enhancing
the situation of the elderly people (1986).
There have been too many related resolutions
to mention them all; however, they explored all
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