On the 23rd of January this year, the Association of Polish Cities, in cooperation with the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities, organised a seminar within the framework of the Local Development Forum under the title: 'Active Seniors – Urban Policies for Seniors in Practice'.

How are the needs and opportunities for older people changing today? How are older people perceived by society? There are still plenty of stereotypes about people over 60, their real problems, their way of life, their state of health and their needs. On the other hand, seniors are increasingly seen as consumers, as people with high economic potential and as professionally active.

Demography is an increasingly prevalent topic in local self-government debates, which accompany the development of all kinds of strategies, for example. Women in Poland have already reached the life expectancy of European women, while men are still some way off the European average, but are also living longer. At the same time, we have to deal with the phenomenon of relatively low generational replacement. In Poland this indicator is 1.4, the second lowest in Europe.

'The labour market is becoming more challenging,' says Andrzej Porawski, Director of the Office of the Association of Polish Cities. 'Given the traditional retirement age, the Statistics Poland forecasts that 550,000 people will leave the labour market over the next 10 years. This creates opportunities for older people to work longer, but it also forces cities to adopt appropriate migration policies, which some are already doing.'

Polish cities, where the elderly population is growing every year, are changing and expanding their services for older people, taking into account the diversity of their needs and potential. Today's senior citizens not only need support in meeting their basic living needs, better access to medical care (including remote care or visits by volunteers), but also expect proposals for various forms of activity or reinforcement in the use of new technologies.

The growing number of elderly residents is a major challenge for both Polish and European cities. 'Never before in the history of mankind have we seen such a rapid and long-term increase in the number of older people in society,' said Professor Piotr Błędowski of the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH), Vice-Chairman of the Senior Policy Council, during the seminar. 'The sheer number is one thing, but the proportion of older people is also growing, and this has all sorts of consequences, because a relatively larger proportion of the activities and resources available to public policy (including policy for older people) are and will have to be allocated to various activities aimed at the older population. The number of older people is increasing because we are living longer. On the one hand, this is good news, but it is also a mixed blessing, because as the number of older people rises and their life expectancy increases, society and public administrations are faced with ever greater challenges.'

Older people comprise a fairly diverse group. They include people in their 60s who are professionally and physically active and who participate in society on equal footing with younger groups. However, seniors also constitute a large group of people who are ill, lonely, often depressed, with limited mobility and therefore limited opportunities to use health, cultural, entertainment or recreational services. According to Prof Błędowski, there is a need for a policy for older people in Poland that addresses the two basic groups of older people's needs and the diversity between them.

According to the expert, another important challenge is the overlap between senior citizens' issues and the need for cities to take measures to retain their youngest residents. The expert believes that there is a danger of a gerontology-oriented approach to local self-government policy, while local authorities should take equal care of the needs of all residents. Maintaining such a balance will certainly be one of the most challenging tasks in the coming years.

Anne Berit Rafoss, Project Manager at the Centre for Age Friendly Communities in the Directorate of Health of the Norwegian Government, presented the idea of a Global Network of Age Friendly Cities. She spoke about Norway's national strategy 'More Years – More Opportunities' and the 'Full Life – All Life' system reform.

Another process called 'Community and Independence – Living Safely at Home' is underway since 2023. 'If all the projects planned as part of these reforms work, the focus will really be on helping older people,' says Anne Berit Rafoss.

In Norway, a national Network of Age Friendly Cities and Municipalities has been established. It already has 236 members out of a total of 356 Norwegian municipalities. This means that more than 70% of the country's population is covered by the network and its cooperation.

During the seminar, practitioners from the Polish cities of Gdańsk, Goleniów and Poznań talked about what the cities offer to older people. Among other things, they discussed ways of communicating with senior citizens, forms and methods of engaging them in dialogue, involving them in city life and integrating them into the local community. They also showed numerous examples of activities, initiatives and ideas on how to activate older city residents and how to make this difficult phase of life, i.e. old age, easier for them.