Sharjah 24: Sharjah Age Friendly City office at the Social Services Department (SSD) works on establishing official partnerships with the government and private bodies.
Sharjah Age Friendly City office urges all members of society to avoid discrimination on the basis of age, and to focus on the competencies and professionalism enjoyed by many senior citizens, not to mention the interest in developing technical applications in the Arab world in proportion to the elderly in our region, and thus developing strategic plans for their digital literacy with the cooperation of all authorities.
Asma Al Khodari, Director of the Sharjah Age Friendly City office, confirmed that senior citizens should benefit from the digital services provided by Sharjah and the federal government, especially that COVID crisis highlighted the importance of this aspect, by virtue of precautionary measures, staying at home and preventing visits to protect senior citizens from being infected, whereas they are the “weakest link”, so the appropriate solution is to interact with family members from children and grandchildren through modern digital technologies.
Asma Al Khodari added that the coming period will focus on establishing strategic partnerships with departments and authorities to be an active partner with Sharjah Age Friendly City office, which will work on implementing 189 standards distributed over 8 main axes, in addition to several initiatives including: elderly-friendly public places, the “Senior Citizen Friendly Institutions” initiative, such as providing wheelchairs for senior citizens and make them a priority in obtaining services in all departments, providing corridors, as well as nearby parking, and other initiatives.
Asma Al Khodari stated that the goal during this year is to create an optimal environment for senior citizens, that makes their lives happy, and helps them to get out of their isolation.
Asma Al Khodari added that these initiatives are in line with the decisions of the Global Network of Elderly Friendly Cities, whereas Sharjah is one of the members.
Asma Al Khodari confirmed that Sharjah Age Friendly City office is interested in applying eight criteria for the continuity of membership, and introducing Sharjah experience to members. During the last quarter of 2021, Sharjah Age Friendly City published 20 practices among members of the network, as well as transferring 13 practices and 13 practices to coordinators and international bodies, and hosting representatives of some cities to transfer those experiences and practices under the title of best global practices.
For an optimal experience, please
