/ Town Hall
Friday, 29th September 2023
CALVIÀ HOLDS THE II SENIOR CITIZENS' DAY
The event was aimed at those facing the last stage of life
Amongst the content, there has been a discussion on well-being in the face of new longevity
Video Audio Mayor Audio Dr. Yanguas
The II Senior Citizen's Day, organised by Calvià Town Hall, in commemoration of its International Day, which will be on Sunday, has taken place in the Sala Palmanova, this morning. The meeting is aimed at the elderly, as well as all those people and entities involved in achieving maximum well-being at this life stage.
On this occasion, Calvià dedicated the Day to the role of “Society in the well-being of the elderly”. The event began with the intervention of Mayor Juan Antonio Amengual who assured that “Calvià wants to be a caring municipality and we are working on this, to obtain recognition as an Age-Friendly City by the World Health Organization.”. And he added that: “we want to recover the value of caring, looking after people with quality and warmth, taking into account how we want to be treated as we age.”
This was followed by a lecture by Doctor of Psychology Javier Yanguas, author of the book “Pasos para una nueva vejez” (Steps for a new old age), which provides his vision of the “Challenges of the new longevity”. It is evident that society must reflect on what it means to be an aging country and Calvià a municipality that is aging, since one in six people is over 65 years old. Furthermore, Calvià is the residential destination of many European senior citizens, many of whom are English and German, who migrate especially to the coast for their retirement.
Senior citizens experience a progressive deterioration in the ability to be autonomous in the daily living activities. To work in this sense, the nurse specialist in gerontology Julia Gallo has moderated the round table '¡Calvià responde!' (Calvià responds!), in which several veterans of Calvià civil society have participated and have talked about how care can be contributed in the last life stage, from different fields. It should be noted that amongst the elderly, friendship and proximity networks play a central role in the face of an uncertain future of possible dependency.
The Day began at 9 a.m. and ended after 1:30 p.m., with “Música para cuidar”(Music for caring), by the music therapist Arantxa Andreu, who encouraged the attendees, transmitted good vibes and left a very pleasant feeling.
Ageing involves a new adaptation to the environment, the ability to respond and the need for care. In the old age stage, possible changes in lifestyle appear as a concern not only for the elderly, but also for their environment and friends. Physical deteriorations due to age act by configuring a representation of aging in which disability and illness are not alien, with the certainty that the future will bring those deteriorations and that old age is the life stage that does not have continuity in another.
