1. PLANNING AND TRANSVERSATILITY
Recent decades have seen much discussion about aging and senior citizens mainly due to the demographic evolution of western societies. In all these societies the age structure of the population has changed significantly, as infancy and youth give way to more advanced age groups.
The population in Andalusia is aging, as is the Spanish population and other western societies and it is due to two main reasons: one may be referred to as the "survival miracle" and the other reason is birth control.
But aging is a phenomenon which must be analysed beyond its mere demographic content. We are aware that the age structure of the Andalusian, Spanish and world population is changing, and it is now time to focus attention on senior citizens. In this area, we give examples of a series of sociological characteristics to help us become familiar with and better understand the different possible ways of aging, through the analysis of structural aspects and tendencies to change.
2. LIVING IN SECURITY
The enjoyment of a minimum level of protection is essential for the construction of an efficient concept of active aging. And this security is multifaceted: legal security and protection of rights, economic security, security concerning surrounding limitations and the security that the image of senior citizens receives the appropriate treatment from the media. In a sustained drive to cover all the aspects with a bearing on the elderly, proposals have been drawn up concerning road safety, age discrimination, the protection of family heritage, the rights of senior citizens as consumers and protection from crimes against the elderly. Living in security is an essential postulate to aging with a quality of life.
3. LIVING HEALTHILY
Active aging is a fundamental resource which helps people and communities to reach their potential with a quality of life and significance throughout the entire life cycle and to participate in the society according to their needs, wishes and abilities. It is, therefore, applicable to any health condition and level of independence.
To reach an optimum and favourable condition of health not only requires measures set into motion by public powers, but also that the individual is responsible for caring for their own health and participation in social reality.
Living and remaining in good health is a constitutional right and should be an objective to work towards throughout the life cycle. One should not wait to reach the age of 65 before starting to look after oneself, although on reaching this stage of life some activities take on a special relevance.
As stated by the World Health Organisation, "to encourage active aging, health systems must take a global view of the life cycle and be directed towards promoting good health, the prevention of illnesses and equal access to primary health care and long-lasting quality care". In addition, health and social services must be co-ordinated and work together, as well as being effective and profitable in order to improve citizens' quality of life.
An integral policy of healthy aging cannot ignore the influence of social factors on health during the different stages of the life cycle, giving special attention to older men and women from more disadvantaged backgrounds, since there may be a build-up of adverse circumstances from even before birth.
4. PARTICIPATION, CONTRIBUTION AND INNOVATION ASSOCIATED WITH ACTIVE AGING
There are many ways of interpreting active aging but all refer to participation in one way or another. Why? We age better if we take an active part in our own aging process, that is, if we are involved in the decision-making about how we age and this social participation brings us into contact with other aging people. In addition, when the participation is called active, this means, amongst others, that we are participating in doing something towards our aging. With our active participation we contribute what we can - ideas, time, experience, abilities, criticisms, etc. - to improve our own aging process and that of fellow citizens. Participation and contributing to the aging process go hand in hand.
Within the framework of active aging, active participation is continuous, through all our life, at all ages, since we develop and age while we live. Therefore, it makes little sense to speak about the participation of senior citizens exclusively for senior citizens and with senior citizens; it is more appropriate to encourage social participation at all ages and among all ages in order to encourage a good aging process for everyone throughout our lives.
Furthermore, we refer to diverse participation because there is no single way of actively aging, nor does everyone know, wish or are they able to participate in the same way. Participating in this way and aging actively is a process which is learnt; hence the importance of life-long training in the aging process. Aging well is a task, an essential project able to guide us, to give sense to what we do and to lead us towards happiness.
The introduction of active aging in Andalusia also encourages us to innovate, to some extent, our existing ways of aging, of regarding age and of making of age a challenge and an opportunity for a more human, balanced and sustainable development of our society.
5. LIFE-LONG TRAINING
Broadly speaking on-going training is understood as the learning ability of individuals of any age in the life cycle and consequently, the application of life-long educational programmes.
More specifically, on-going training, whether formal or informal, can be defined as any useful activity, carried out continuously with the aim of improving knowledge, qualifications, abilities and attitudes.
This leads us to consider that the recognition of the right to life-long education and the right to life-long learning is, today more than ever, a need. It is the right to read and write, investigate and analyse, have access to certain resources and develop and put into practice individual and collective abilities and skills, i.e., one of the key factors of the 21st century.
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