TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1998

Elderly to take over

Senior citizens will soon be taking over. In 50 years, people over the age of 65 will outnumber young people (15-24 years old) for the first time in recorded history.

The elderly's increasing life expectancy will take away the youth's hold on the position of largest age group.

This new generation growth poses many challenges and opportunities for the future. A global meeting has been established to address the concept of intergenerational cooperation across the world.

The Global Meeting of Generations, to be held in January 1999, is looking to unite both age groups to uncover new ways of contributing to society while still improving old ones. Their web site can be accessed at www.idc.org/gmg.

Twelve separate themes will be explored, which will cover all aspects of social concern in both developing and developed countries. The main goal of the conference is to address how to get all generations to actively participate in society.

Fifteen international agencies and non-governmental organizations have come together to sponsor the conference. The International Development Conference, which for the past 50 years has sponsored some of the world's largest development conferences, is the managing partner.

Approximately 2,000 people are expected to attend the meeting. It is refreshing to see that organizations are watching out for the sanctity of our future.