Ageing - Unesco Sponsors International Conference on Human Ageing 17-20 June
Unesco Sponsors International Conference on Human Ageing 17-20 June
paris, 13 June No. 96-116- Nearly 200 specialists from some 15 nations will attend a UNESCO-sponsored conference on human ageing from 17 to 20 June at Headquarters.
Entitled "Adding Life to Years," the conference aims to develop an integrated approach to the study of ageing in which biology, psychology, sociology, nutrition, biomedical interventions and health care, and social impact and economic consequences are all considered.
Held in the context of UNESCO's world-wide Molecular and Cell Biology Network which fosters international exchange of research, the conference will examine the immense societal, cultural, scientific and medical challenges arising from today's dramatic increase in the proportion of elderly people within the general population. The phenomenon began in the more developed countries but is now spreading throughout the world.
The conference will open with remarks by Maurizio Iaccarino, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Science, who will represent Director-General Federico Mayor. The rest of the conference will be organized around four main topics: the ageing phenomenon, loss and gain in ageing, interventions (social solutions, rehabilitation, economics), and future scenarios (social impact, gerontechnology, public policy).
The conference, which will be in English, will begin at 9 a.m. on 17 June in Room IV at Headquarters and will conclude on 20 June. It will be followed by a conference organized by the French Academy of Sciences at the Singer polignac Foundation on 21 and 22 June. A news conference covering both conferences will be held at UNESCO at noon on 20 June in Room III.
press contacts: pR International, tel. 44-05-83-15
and UNESCO press Service, tel. 45-68-17-46
