The first three days training event in the frame of the Safeguarding older persons’ legal and human rights through active citizenship and inter-generational approach

project took place in Dublin in mid-November. It followed a full day of working meeting of the partners and a discussion session at the Project Arts Centre where we attended The Gathering Bealtaine Event 2022. During the intensive exchange we followed prominent speakers - Patricia Rickard-Clarke, Former Law Reform Commissioner and Chair of Sage Advocacy; Nora Owen, Former Minister for Justice and current Trustee at Safeguarding Ireland; Patsy Fitzsimons, Head of Complaints and Investigations at Decision Support Service; Professor Amanda Phelan from Trinity College Dublin; David Byrne, Former Attorney General to the Irish Government and Former European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection; Justice John O’Connor and others.

The presentations and the discussions reflected the different perspectives – the judiciary and the service provider; the social worker, the solicitor and the public health. These were followed by presentation of the activities of the independent Sage Advocacy “Nothing about you – without you”. Special session was dedicated to The Bealtaine Festival, organised annually by Age & Opportunity. Tara Byrne, the Festival’s Programme Manager, gave examples of active participation of citizens and intergenerational solidarity from a cultural perspective.

Bibiana Savin from Sage Advocacy presented an interesting idea - expressing complex issues in simple messages “Postcards from the Edge”. Mary Condell, legal adviser at Sage Advocacy, presented the initiative Thinking Ahead – Planning Ahead. The partners from Bulgaria, Austria and Germany presented European perspectives in Human Rights and Older people. We exchanged many and various practices and ideas, compared approaches and opportunities. On the last day Dr. Michael Browne spoke about the next steps in the realization of the project.