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An age-friendly environment will result in more friendly aged citizens who will gainfully engage themselves in their golden years, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, said in his address to some 300 attendees at the CADENZA Symposium 2010: Age-friendly World Cities and Environment this morning (October 8).
"It is an investment which will yield handsome dividends in the form of a healthier, happier and more cohesive society," he added.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), "An Age-friendly City is an inclusive and accessible urban environment that promotes active ageing".
Mr Cheung noted that the symposium provided a timely and useful platform to take stock of our overall performance at a time when many global economies, including Hong Kong, were facing the challenge of an ageing population as the baby boomer generation reached retirement age.
"The Government attaches great importance to the psychosocial and physical well-being of our elders and spares no effort in encouraging and facilitating elders to lead an active and healthy life," Mr Cheung said.
"Under the principle of 'ageing in place', we provide elders who age at home with subsidised centre-based and/or home-based community care services. For those who have long-term care needs and cannot be adequately taken care of at home, we provide them with subsidised residential care services.
"As an on-going effort, we will continue to increase the provision of subsidised day care, home-based care and residential care services for the elderly to meet the growing demand," he stressed.
As for the many elderly singletons, especially the hidden and vulnerable ones, Mr Cheung pointed out that a series of special support services at district and neighbourhood levels provided through the 158 District Elderly Community Centres in the territory were in place.
In 1997, the Elderly Commission was set up to advise the Government on the formulation of a comprehensive policy in caring for the elders.
"This speaks volumes for the Government's commitment in improving the quality of life of our elderly population and to provide them with a sense of security, a sense of belonging and a feeling of health and worthiness," Mr Cheung said.
He commended the Commission's efforts in promoting lifelong learning among elders through the Elder Academy Scheme and encouraging elders' participation in the Neighbourhood Active Ageing Project to build up neighbourhood support networks.
Mr Cheung also cited Hong Kong's stable law and order situation; accessibility; safe, efficient, reliable and environmentally friendly public transport system; public housing flats for the elderly, as well as a heavily subsidised healthcare system to illustrate how we had fared so far as an age-friendly city.
"While hardware is no doubt essential, what is fundamental, I should say, is the mindset. Some people tend to take a dim and rather passive view towards ageing. Let me say that I do not belong to this school of thought. The silver hair generation is full of wisdom and possesses a wealth of experience. They have much to offer the next generation and the community as a whole. Indeed, they are a treasure trove," he said.
The rapid growing of the ageing population and the high life expectancy of Hong Kong people have made it all the more important for us to embrace the challenges squarely and positively, Mr Cheung said. "And I look to your discussions today for ideas and recommendations to make Hong Kong a better place to age," he said.
The symposium was jointly organised by CADENZA: A Jockey Club Initiative for Seniors, the Faculty of Social Sciences of The University of Hong Kong and the Faculty of Medicine of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, with funding from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust.
Ends/Friday, October 8, 2010
Issued at HKT 11:55
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