I took the trouble to find out how many of the 100 members of the Grand Council are of retirement age. I counted a total of 17 men and 2 women who are already of retirement age. That makes 19 % of the cantonal parliament.
Let's compare this with the resident population of the canton of Basel-Stadt: At the end of 2018, the canton had a population of 200,256. Of these, 38,844 were over 65 years old. What a surprise: that's 19.4 %!
My personal opinion is that people of AHV age are adequately represented in the Basel cantonal parliament - even if the proportion of retired women could certainly be increased!
Beatrice Messerli, a member of the Grand Council from the Green Alliance parliamentary group, has the honor of being the oldest woman in the Grand Council. I asked her where she sees the advantages of having a say in parliament as a retired teacher after 41 years in the service of schools.
Beatrice Messerli says that she now has more time for political work in the Council and probably less operational blindness for the school, even though she is still very close to her former colleagues.
She admires her young female council colleagues who are able to juggle a parliamentary mandate alongside their family and career. After all, working in the Grand Council is quite time-consuming and a real challenge.
In response to my comment that there are too few retired women in parliament, Beatrice Messerli says that she wishes women the courage they need to take on a role in politics after retirement.
And what does Beatrice Messerli say about the Seniors@Work startup: "The website makes a totally fresh impression! Super!
If you look at the Seniors@Work homepage, you will see that Pro Senectute beider Basel is listed as one of the first cooperation partners. Pro Senectute is THE specialist and contact point for questions relating to old age. Over 130 advice centers throughout Switzerland offer a wide range of help and services for older people and their relatives. The growing number of members gives this organization the necessary background to stand up for the interests of older people and to offer them a wide range of opportunities from social work to education.
But now we wanted to know: why is Senectute beider Basel involved in Seniors@Work?
Michael Harr, Managing Director of Pro Senectute, commented as follows:
The new Seniors-at-Work online platform has been in operation since the beginning of November in collaboration with Pro Senectute beider Basel.
Thanks to "Seniors@Work" enables senior citizens to work and promotes intergenerational exchange. That is why we support Seniors@Work. Thanks to this offer, the professional potential of older, experienced people in our society can also be better utilized and the knowledge and experience of older people can be better preserved in our society.
Pro Senectute beider Basel is a partner of the online platform because we want to help to promote the satisfaction and health of senior citizens by increasing their active participation in society. be integrated.
We would like to thank Pro Senectute beider Basel for their trust and look forward to continuing our successful collaboration!
Beatrice
When is the right time?
An article in the Beobachter "Allowing senior citizens to actively participate in life" impressively points out that senior citizens can become lonely at home. He goes into rudimentary detail about how third parties or relatives can activate, motivate and persuade older people to join an interest group. However, he talks about playing cards and hiking, not about passing on his own knowledge from his long professional life.
The question remains: when is the right time to get involved in your profession again? Some people need a break or a break after retirement. How do you find your way back into an active senior life after a break?
Write to us! Share your experience with us!
The Federal Statistical Office writes:
Active ageing means that people have the opportunity to maintain their health as they get older, participate in the life of their social environment, ensure their personal safety and thus improve their quality of life (WHO, 2002).
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe has created an Active Ageing Index AAI. It shows the extent to which the potential of older people is being exploited in three different areas: Employment, social participation and independent living. The AAI also includes a fourth area that goes beyond the actual experience of active ageing. It captures the differences between countries in terms of the situation of their older populations and the creation of an enabling environment for active ageing.
What does active ageing mean to you, dear reader? How does it manifest itself for you?
My personal definition is something like this:
- Still very curious about everything around him.
- The need not to be slowed down by the adversities of getting older.
- Empathy and openness towards people.
- Lifelong learning.
With this in mind, let's look forward to active ageing!
Beatrice
Interview with Hanspeter Kraft from May 7, 2019
Since the start of the "GGG Digi-Coach" project in December 2018, Hanspeter Kraft has spent one afternoon a week at the Gundeldingen library on Tellplatz. He welcomes people seeking advice and advises them on computers, programs, cell phones, tablets, online forms and much more.
Hanspeter Kraft is a retired mathematician from the University of Basel. His connection to the digital world has existed throughout his professional life. He explains that as a GGG Digi-Coach, you not only need to have an affinity for today's technology - you also have to like people. The topics are varied, he not only advises senior citizens, younger men and women also come to him.
It is important to him to take away the uncertainty of those seeking advice and to strengthen their confidence in their own knowledge. Sometimes he closes elementary gaps in order to get people out of any defensive position they may have towards the digital world. He lets everyone do it themselves and only sits in to advise them. And he smiles: "Women are a bit braver! They are more daring to ask questions.
Info
https://www.stadtbibliothekbasel.ch/de/gundeldingen.html
Interview Annelies Greney from April 29, 2019
I'm meeting Annelies Greney for a coffee to start this little interview. I have known Annelies personally for many years. Her commitment to volunteer work brought us together; we did neighborhood work together for several years, Annelies was reliable and she has a sense of humor, which made the often intensive collaboration very pleasant.
When did you retire?
Since September 2018.
Would you like to continue working?
I feel fit, I have a lot of work and life experience. I started looking around during my last few months at work. There are lots of opportunities for people who want to get involved. Voluntary and paid. I looked around at "dog-sitting", "Homeinstead" and many more, but then signed up for Seniors@Work.
What experiences have you had with Seniors@Work so far?
I have seen that my profile has been clicked on over 100 times and once I received an offer. But I turned it down.
Why did you turn down this offer?
The offer included a fixed number of hours per week for a long time, for months on end. But I was firmly integrated into working life for over 40 years. I no longer need such a tight corset. I'd rather have occasional, short-term assignments.
What happens now?
I'll wait and see if an offer comes along that fits my profile.
"I'm open to many things," says Annelies Greney and laughs her sympathetic laugh.
There are people who follow role models their whole lives. I have never done that. But in my life I have repeatedly "stumbled across" people who have made a big impression on me.
It happened again recently. Do you know Ruth Bader Ginsburg? I confess I knew nothing about her until I became aware of the Hollywood movie "on the basis of sex". Ruth Bader Ginsburg - or RBG - was born in Brooklyn in 1933 and has been an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court since 1993. She has spent a lifetime campaigning for equal rights for both women and men. I was already impressed by the above-mentioned movie. It was therefore only logical that I should also watch the documentary "RBG".
This incredibly interesting woman is still active as a judge and tirelessly on the road. She inspires generations, sensitizes young people to issues of equality and women's rights and is committed to issues such as abortion, the death penalty and homosexuality. A funny detail: RBG doesn't just wear the traditional judge's robe. No, she spices it up with jabots of various kinds, subtly introducing a feminine element into a domain that has long been incredibly defended by men.
Both films are currently still showing in theaters. Highly recommended!
Beatrice Isler
Source photo: Flickr
Have you been to the Picasso exhibition at the Beyeler Museum in Riehen? If you look at the pictures and remember how Picasso developed, you can see it clearly: he learned the craft and developed a reduction from the diversity of what he had learned. Some of his later drawings, for example, are incredibly reduced. The viewer's eye is not concerned with missing lines. It sees the object. With this reduction, the artist creates a new, essential detail.
Yes, what do these thoughts have to do with Seniors@Work?
At Seniors@Work, people come forward with a wealth of experience from their professional lives. They first had to learn their trade in detail. The learning effect was accompanied by a reduction to the essentials. The essence of experience in dealing with the profession was made visible. And new developments, new details came to light. And here they are, the seniors who are happy to pass on what they have learned.
A high level of professionalism and knowledge is now available to interested parties. It would be a shame not to make use of this know-how. So, dear reader: in keeping with the motto "Do good and talk about it", we would be delighted if you would spread the word about seniors@work!
Source photo: Flickr
Seniors@Work: The online placement platform for seniors
The The "Seniors@Work" website helps to establish contact with senior citizens and offers them a monthly subscription model. For a small contribution, you can set up a profile and be approached for work. Alexis is convinced that he can convince the lions with his socially relevant project and trigger an investment.
Broadcast date of the presentation: Tuesday, May 28, 2019 from 8.15 p.m.
