The 2020 social almanac dedicated to "Ageing" has just come out!

Caritas Luxembourg presents the 14th edition of its social almanac, dedicated to the theme "Veillissement (Ageing)". The ageing of our society is one of the flagship themes of the 21st century, and it is the theme of this year's almanac: shedding light on an issue that can hinder sustainable development if it is not addressed and tackled.

Before daring to look to the future, including the challenges of the current crisis (although at the time of going to press the situation was still far from today's) the Sozialalmanach offers a retrospective on the latest State of the Nation speech, on social policy in 2019/2020 as well as the European Semester and the transposition of the Europe 2020 strategy in Luxembourg. At the end of this first part, unavoidable elements and questions likely to appear in the Prime Minister's next State of the Nation statement are discussed.

In the second part, not all the themes could be dealt with, as usual, for reasons of space and available authors. Nevertheless, after the preface by the Minister for Family and Integration, thirteen contributions address the proposed theme from different angles. The various national and international authors present their reflections on the ageing of society and shed light on them from different angles. These include demographic development and the consequences for social security systems of old age (pension and nursing care insurance), but also partial aspects such as the job satisfaction of (still) active senior citizens, mental health and the link between ageing and climate change. Opportunities are also examined, but also the situation of older people: digital care concepts, housing, spirituality and culture, as well as end-of-life situations.

The statistics and graphs in the third part illustrate the first two parts and monitor the development of the Europe 2020 strategy.

Table of Content

The Caritas Sozialalmanach 2020 highlights issues related to Luxembourg's social development: Ageing

L’année sociale au Luxembourg (juillet 2019 – mars 2020)

• Le travail du gouvernement n'est pas satisfaisant après un bon départ
• La pauvreté, les inégalités et les problèmes de logement restent des problèmes majeurs
• Changement climatique et numérisation : deux défis majeurs

« Vieillissement », des points de vue nationaux et internationaux

• Ignorer le vieillissement serait irresponsable
• L'économie, le système social, la cohabitation et la culture sont affectés
• Il y a aussi des opportunités, mais il faut les saisir

L’évolution sociale en chiffres

• Les objectifs de la stratégie Europe 2020 sont largement manqués
• Les inégalités continuent de croître
• Le changement de société dû au vieillissement s'accélère

The authers

Diane Dhur, Kevin Everard, Jutta Filot-Förtsch, Stefan Heynes, Martina Holbach, Gérard Johanns, Dani Jung, Alexandra Kasper, Carlo Knöpfel, Gaëtan De Lanchy, Stéphanie Mertz, Maria Nyman, Sophie Parent, François Peltier, Carole Reckinger, Thuc Uyen Nguyen-Thi, Silvia Tricarico, Robert Urbé, Emma Zimer

"In the 21st century, old age has become one of the distinctive features of humanity. Over a span of just a few decades, the demographic pyramid which was once based on a large number of children and young people and had at the top just a few elderly people — has been reversed. …

 

"Social disorientation and, in many respects, the indifference and rejection that our societies manifest towards the elderly demand not only of the Church, but of all of us, a serious reflection to learn to grasp and to appreciate the value of old age. Indeed, while on the one hand States are called to confront the new demographic situation at the economic level, on the other, civil society needs values and meaning for the third and fourth senior stages. …"

Pope Francis, Address on 31 January 2020 to participants in the international Congress „The Richness of many Years of Life“, organised by the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life

to order the Sozialalamanach