Sharjah24: The Sharjah age-friendly office of the Sharjah Social Services Department (SSSD) organised a brainstorming session in which more than 34 governmental and non-governmental agencies and influential figures in the Emirati community participated.
The meeting came to inspire future ideas for the Sharjah Age-Friendly City programme, to come up with a decision to create a comprehensive and sustainable environment for the elderly, and to introduce new initiatives and activities for the next phase of the programme.
According to Asmaa Al Khudairi, Director of the Sharjah Age-Friendly Office, the session dealt with the main axes of the eight age-friendly city standards: external spaces and buildings, transportation, housing, community participation, respect and social inclusion, civic participation and employment, communication and information, community support, and health services. In addition, the session aims to raise the level of services provided to the elderly and to create innovative initiatives that are in their interest and comfort.
Among the suggestions submitted by the participants are age-friendly buildings that are sustainable housing equipped with a smart alarm that connects the smart home to the hospital or ambulance. The elderly residents of the region will be given a choice to choose the form of planning for the area.
The proposals also included encouraging the elderly to practice their hobbies, spreading awareness, and compulsory community work hours, including caring for the elderly as a requirement to move from one stage to the next.
The elderly proposed age-friendly transportation buses, age-friendly housing, women's gathering in the suburbs, and facilitating travel services for them.
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