National multi-stakeholder meetings and dialogue

Organising multi-stakeholder meetings are a useful way of stimulating dialogue on the specific areas of older people’s rights and raising awareness of the challenges older people face in claiming their rights in your country. This also contributes to the development of content for a convention that will advance the protection of older people’s human rights. It is helpful to focus on the specific areas of human rights being considered in the Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing (OEWG) consultation and upcoming session. This is an opportunity to influence your government and National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) to prepare strong written submissions for the UN consultation that usually takes place over the summer each year in preparation for the upcoming session. Like the tripartite meetings ahead of the OEWG, you should aim to involve representatives from the different government ministries involved in the OEWG process, your NHRI, and older people and civil society organisations as well as other stakeholders such as service providers, academia and the media. These meetings are a very useful way of exchanging expertise, building a common understanding and ensuring that older people’s voices and experiences are at the heart of the process of strengthening older people’s rights.