Within the scope of the activities of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) during Dubai Expo 2020, SESRIC organized a Seminar on “Elderly and Persons with Disabilities in OIC Member Countries” on 02 December 2021 between 16:00 and 18:00 at the Terra Auditorium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Seminar provided a platform to discuss and highlight the common challenges faced by the elderly and persons with disabilities, evaluate the prospects for improving their quality of life, exchange knowledge and best practices in this area, and extend efforts towards enhancing intra-OIC cooperation.

In the opening session, H. E. Mr. Fadi Farasin, Assistant Director General of SESRIC, addressed the Seminar and delivered the message of H. E. Mr. Nabil Dabur, Director General of SESRIC. Mr. Farasin expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the United Arab Emirates, the host of Expo 2020 and the General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for their patronage of this Seminar in these challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Farasin recognized that the elderly and persons with disabilities account for a significant portion of the population in OIC member countries and the quality of life of the elderly and persons with disabilities and their ability to participate in society is heavily dependent on supportive national policies and programs. He briefed the participants about activities that SESRIC undertakes in order to inform policy making in OIC member countries that can ensure the well-being of the elderly and persons with disabilities. During the opening session, Ms. Amina Obeid Al Hajri, Director General for Cultural, Social, and Family Affairs of the OIC, also made a statement and extended her thanks to SESRIC for organizing this important Seminar during Expo Dubai 2020. Ms. Al Hajri also mentioned the importance of addressing the needs and challenges of the elderly and persons with disabilities, especially in critical times such as during the COVID-19 pandemic and highlighted important strategic frameworks that OIC has adopted in this domain.

Moderated by Mr. Mazhar Hussain, Director of Economic and Social Research Department at SESRIC, the Seminar featured a panel discussion with participants from SESRIC, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN ESCWA), and the Ministry of Family and Social Services of the Republic of Turkey. During the panel discussion, Ms. Tazeen Qureshi, Researcher at SESRIC, made a presentation on two of SESRIC’s reports on the topic titled “State of Elderly in OIC Member Countries” and “People with Disabilities and Special Needs in OIC Countries”. In her presentation, Ms. Qureshi provided insights on the current state of the elderly and persons with disabilities in OIC countries and the major areas of concern that require prescriptive policy interventions in order to improve the welfare of the elderly and persons with disabilities. Ms. Neda Jafar, Head of Statistical Policies and Coordination Unit at UN ESCWA, delivered a presentation on ESCWA’s Disability Statistics Programme in the Arab world. Afterward, Ms. Rumeysa Ceylan, Assistant Expert at the Ministry of Family and Social Services of Turkey, shared best practices from Turkey with the participants – in particular Turkey’s integrated care system for the elderly and persons with disabilities. Ms. Ceylan also shed light on the various assistive and rehabilitative programs and services (ongoing and planned) provided by Turkey’s General Directorate of Services for Persons with Disabilities and Elderly.

The Seminar ended with a Question and Answer session that enabled the audience to interact with the panelists.

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCypCd6mYbw

Photos