From Ageism to Age Equality: Addressing the Challenges ...

Presentations in the Final Session focused on:the status of age equality and non-discrimination in the EUimplementing equality for older people in Ireland.Conference OutcomesA number of key issues and challenges emerged from the conference presentations and discussionsessions.Ageism ExistsPerhaps the most fundamental finding that emerged from several papers, including those of LorettaCrawley, Síle O’Connor and Eileen McGlone, is that ageism and age discrimination exist. They areembedded in our culture and attitudes. Everyone is responsible and tackling ageism is an issue forsociety as a whole.Prompt ActionIt was clear from the conference that the time to act is now. This message emerged strongly fromseveral papers and through comments made by delegates during the discussion sessions.We know that we are living in an ageing society. While there are many reasons to act now, asRichard Baker showed in his paper, it is the economic and social impact of an ageing society that hasdriven the EU to take action on age discrimination. ‘If we fail to act now, then more of us are goingto be affected by ageism, and the more of us are affected, the greater the impact on our society’(Baker).3Building AwarenessBoth Craig Muir and Ros Levenson’s papers highlighted the fact that the first stage in tackling ageismis to acknowledge its existence and build awareness of it; people must understand and be able torecognise what ageism is and what it does.We saw, however, that many people find it difficult to identify ageism. Ros Levenson noted this in herpaper and it also emerged from the research findings presented by both Eileen McGlone and SíleO’Connor. The message was simple: ageism cannot be eliminated without raising awareness of whatit is and how it works. It is necessary to demonstrate what it means for individuals to be ageist andfor institutions or organisations to discriminate on the grounds of age.Why Ageism Must Be EliminatedMany reasons were offered during the conference that amply explained the importance of eliminatingageism. Age discrimination erodes the values we espouse for our society, as well as for our healthand social services. It is, in fact, the antithesis of these values: it devalues and excludes people;From Ageism to Age Equality: Addressing the Challenges