Towards a Society for All Ages: Building Solidarity and Equity across Generations

The five Regional Commissions of the United Nations and the Permanent Mission of Chile organized during the Action Days of the Summit of the Future in New York the side-event entitled: “Towards a society for all ages: building solidarity and equity across generations”. On the occasion the Regional Commissions launched their joint policy brief on ‘intergenerational relations, creating a world for all ages so that no one is left behind’, which offers recommendations to address the social and economic challenges and opportunities of demographic shifts towards multigenerational societies across the regions.

The Permanent Representative of Chile, Ambassador Paula Narváez, hosting the event, highlighted in her opening remarks that “intergenerational solidarity is not just a moral imperative but a strategic necessity. As our populations become more age-diverse, we must strengthen mechanisms that ensure equal opportunities and protection for people of all ages. This involves creating multigenerational workforces, promoting decent work for all, and combating ageism in every form. It also involves ensuring that those who are unborn have a voice in the decisions we make today through institutional mechanisms that keep us accountable to future generations”. She further concluded that “as we move forward, it is essential that we focus on the concrete implementation of these ideas. Our aim must be to generate policy recommendations, voluntary commitments, and partnerships that contribute directly to the outcomes of the Summit of the Future”.

The Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, in his capacity as Coordinator of the United Nations’ Regional Commissions, underscored in his opening remarks that the event was an opportunity for engagement and mobilization around building stronger intergenerational solidarity across regions, contributing to the implementation of the Pact for the Future, particularly the pillars on Youth and Future Generations and the Declaration on Future Generations. This event also contributes to the preparatory process for the Second World Summit for Social Development and the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development.  “To realize a society for all ages, States should address the various inequalities that accumulate over the life course and design and implement strategies that foster intergenerational solidarity” he added.

The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, who presented the key findings of the Joint Policy Brief, including the latest evidence on demographic trends and intergenerational relations, labour markets, social protection, care, living arrangements and digitalization across regions, and recommendations to build societies for all ages, highlighted that “Building a society for all ages is about creating a world where everyone, regardless of age, can contribute to and benefit from development. Achieving this requires a commitment to fostering inclusive development policies that support people of all ages, and strong solidarity and collaboration across regions, sectors and generations”.

In the interactive segment moderated by the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), Tatiana Molcean, she highlighted the need to enhance knowledge on intergenerational relations and to foster inter-generational solidarity in the context of increasing longevity and population ageing – an area in which UNECE actively promotes regional cooperation, policy dialogue and experience exchange between member States through the UNECE Standing Working Group on Ageing.

“One of the key tasks is to respond to the needs and changing roles of individuals in families, communities and societies throughout the life course through intergenerational and intra-generational solidarity and to harness the potential of increased longevity. To define effective policy responses to current demographic trends, it is necessary to recognize older persons as active participants of sustainable development and contributors to shaping our future, along with younger generations.” she underscored.

In his intervention, the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Claver Gatete, highlighted Africa’s unique demographic trends, noting that by 2050, one in three young people globally will be African. He emphasized the urgent need for investment in education and job creation to harness this potential, while also addressing the rapid urbanization that will see over 60% of Africa’s population living in cities by 2050. Mr. Gatete stressed the impact of climate change, costing Africa up to 5% of GDP annually, and called for reform of outdated global financial systems and high borrowing costs. Empowering the youth and fostering intergenerational solidarity, he concluded, is essential for ensuring justice and sustainable growth for future generations.

The Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), Rola Dashti, focused on the transformation witnessed in labour markets. “We need a skills revolution; we need to anticipate the skills required for the next decade. This is why Governments should collaborate with the private sector to create agile training programmes that are not just reactive but proactively aligned with future needs,” she underscored. Tackling social protection, Dashti noted that many of the social protection systems and safety nets are outdated and don’t cover non-traditional employment forms. “This is where we need a new social contract, with universal benefits adaptable to diverse career paths and sectors,” she said, adding that “every policy we make today should pass the test of intergenerational equity.”

The panel also featured prominent representatives with the participation of Jeffrey Lizardo, Vice Minister of Economy, Planning and Development of the Dominican Republic; Jean Todt, Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for Road Safety; Rosario Diaz Garavito, Founder of the Millennials Movement;  and Dr. Robin Fenley, Vice-Chair of the NGO Committee on Ageing.

In his intervention, Vice Minister Jeffrey Lizardo shared the challenges that present demographic changes but also opportunities. He also highlighted investments made by the Government of the Dominican Republic in social policies that cover different population groups, from early childhood to adulthood, including in the areas of care, education, health insurance, and social protection. “It is essential to emphasize the alignment of short- and medium-term plans with longer-term goals, such as the National Development Strategy 2030 and the recently launched Plan RD 2036. Achieving this will require strengthening commitments, fostering active participation, and establishing partnerships between governments, the private sector, academia, communities, civil society, and international cooperation to jointly drive this vision for the future in a context of great uncertainty” he concluded.

Special Envoy Jean Todt stressed that every year, the staggering toll of road-related fatalities claims the lives of 1.19 million people, leaving countless others with severe injuries. Road crashes are a leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5–29 years and mentioned the UN global campaign #MakeASafetyStatement that he recently launched to address this silent pandemic. 

Rosario Diaz Garavito brought the youth voice by stressing the importance of investing in this population group and seeing them as partners to build a society of all ages. She thanked the Regional Commissions, in particular ECLAC, for giving them a space for organizing  the Regional Youth Forum in the framework of the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development. Dr. Robin Fenley congratulated the Regional Commissions for the joint policy brief and made reference to the importance of follow-up processes to implement its recommendations.

With a particular focus on intergenerational fairness, the side-event also had a forward-looking focus on voluntary commitments, concrete actions and partnerships needed to deliver on the Pact for the Future.