Lingnan University Co-organise Second Seminar in Indonesia to Promote Bottom-up Community-based Approach to Building Age Friendly Cities/Communities
The School of Graduate Studies at Lingnan University, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Elderly Rights Advocacy and Treatment (ERAT), and the Regional Body for Planning and Development Yogyakarta City organized the second Age-Friendly City Seminar in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, on 16 May 2024. The seminar aimed to promote a community-based, bottom-up approach to building age-friendly cities and communities. This event is the second of four seminars co-organized by the SGS at Lingnan University and its partners in Indonesia to advance the concept of age-friendly cities and healthy aging.
The seminar facilitated the sharing of practical knowledge and strategies to enhance social participation, respect, social inclusion, communication and information access, and community support and health services for people of all ages. The ultimate goal is to promote healthy aging among the elderly population through a community-based, bottom-up approach.
Over 180 participants attended the seminar, including 125 online participants and 57 onsite attendees. During the event, participants had the opportunity to learn from practical solutions and best practices that empower communities to actively engage in creating age-friendly environments, drawing on experiences from Hong Kong.
Ms Emily Wong, the manager of the School of Graduate Studies at Lingnan University, delivered the seminar titled “Empowering Communities for a Better Future: Hong Kong as a Case Study.” During this seminar Ms Wong, encouraged intersectoral collaboration between government agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to build communities that can accommodate people of all ages, especially the elderly ones.
Speakers from the local government agency, represented by Mr Agus Salim from the Regional Planning & Development Agency, Yogyakarta City and the NGO sector, represented by Dr. Muhammad Sobirin, the Chief Program Officer of Rumah Zakat also shared their efforts in promoting inclusive communities based on their experiences with the local context. Nevertheless, they both highlighted the need for more efforts based on the lessons learned from Hong Kong.
The seminar facilitated a potential collaboration between the Yogyakarta City Government and Rumah Zakat, representing the local government and NGO sector, respectively. The two agencies during their committed to co-developing an integrated service aimed at enhancing the quality of life of older adults in the Yogyakarta Province of Indonesia.
The seminar ended in an interactive Q and A session, with participants seeking more knowledge of the role of different stakeholders in building age-friendly communities, based on the community-based bottom-up approach utilised in Hong Kong.
In the upcoming phase of the seminar, the discussion will revolve around how Hong Kong has effectively employed gerontechnology to promote healthy aging within the four domains (social participation, respect and social inclusion, communication and information, and community support and health services) emphasized by this project.
Lingnan University Co-organise Second Seminar in Indonesia to Promote Bottom-up Community-based Approach to Building Age Friendly Cities/Communities
