Debunking Myths: Giving Voice to Seniors

People are not merely voters or consumers, customers or clients. People are citizens and, in a democratic community, their individual and collective endeavours constitute the basic fabric of society.
Citizens want their rights to be respected and increasingly they demand a greater say in shaping their lives.

'A democracy is an open society in which all state power is derived from the people...Democracy guarantees human dignity'.

There is a close link between a healthy democracy and human dignity. In a healthy democracy people work in partnership with government for the benefit of all - people legitimate government AND they have confidence in the democratic process to deliver. At the same time, people's input legitimates their dignity and their worth as citizens.
The current reality is a very different picture.

Many facets of modern life have eroded our sense of community, our sense of worth as citizens and our confidence in the ability of government and major institutions to deliver the type of society we want.
Citizens feel increasingly remote and disconnected from the processes that affect their lives.
In addition, while there is an overload of information, communication between and among generations has broken down to the extent that we often live our lives based on misconceptions and stereotypes that serve to fragment rather than build bridges across community.

When examining seniors' issues one quickly realises that stereotypes and myths abound. Whether it is the community assuming that seniors are past their 'use-by-date', or seniors' concerns about crime trapping them in their own homes, stereotypes and myths seriously undermine the quality of community engagement and the quality of life for seniors.

Age and experience are not valued. In fact, if the experience of elderly friends is anything to go by, it seems that as you start to shrink physically, you're seen to be also doing so mentally.
It seems society conspires to ensure that you also FEEL mentally and physically vulnerable - vulnerable to attack or assault, vulnerable to being taken advantage of.
Trying to lead a full, independent life borders on being foolhardy - you are taking unnecessary risks!

Seniors in our society are increasingly vulnerable as the social fabric is re-woven and certainties disappear—certainties involving economic independence and security, the employment market and the retirement age, and perceptions of personal security within a 'dangerous' world and community.
At its worst it can result in a 'siege mentality' with many older people afraid to venture out beyond their front fence (eg. seniors often depicted as the victims of crime perpetuated by young people - and this despite facts which totally negate it).
To the detriment of us all, seniors are increasingly, and unnaturally, finding themselves segregated from society and undervalued as citizens. This vulnerability leads to feelings of loss of worth, and implies you are a 'burden' to society. All this works to silence the voices of seniors. But citizens everywhere - of all ages - are demanding a fuller, active and greater role in decision-making.

Citizens are not government - but they do elect it and want to be served by it.
In Western Australia, the Citizens and Civics Unit has been established within the Department of the Premier and Cabinet to address these issues.
In the words of WA Premier Geoff Gallop: "Encouraging and empowering people to participate effectively, creatively and critically in community life must be a priority".

The Unit is developing a whole-of-govemment / whole-of-community citizenship strategy...A Voice for All: Strengthening Democracy.

The citizenship initiative is built on a series of key questions grounded in people's experience:

What do citizens do?

What is needed in order to exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship?

How are the necessary attributes of citizens developed?

How do we ensure that citizen input results in better decision making, more relevant to community needs?

What structural/institutional/governance frameworks are required for a civic culture to thrive, so that citizens are really respected and valued partners in policy formulation and implementation?

The goal of the citizenship strategy is a community where all Western Australians are valued as citizens, where they play a more significant role in setting policy priorities and where they help shape me nature of the society in which they live.

"If you are not part of the planning, someone else will do it for you and it may not be where you want to go".

Citizens and government working together as partners can achieve great outcomes now and in the future.
The benefits from being pro-active citizens and participating in decision-making which affects our lives are wide-ranging.
On the one hand, involving citizens as partners leads to more informed and relevant decisions. Societies are more diverse with regard to culture, gender, beliefs and lifestyles.
Simple overarching solutions do not address specific needs of different groups.
People are often wary of expert advice. They want more than data and advice. They want to check the maths themselves and see if the numbers add up.
There is an increasing recognition by governments that stakeholders are well situated to provide solutions to modern day challenges and to ensure positive outcomes.

On the other hand, as many of you will know from personal experience, active participation can lead to unforeseen personal and vocational opportunities and often brings out latent strengths, talents and wisdom.
Effective participation builds confidence in engaging and trust in the democratic processes. It builds a sense of ownership, of safety and security, and a sense of worth.
With the complexities of modem life, it makes sense for governments to tap into the wealth, knowledge and experience of citizens. In other words, there should be strong and healthy connections between people and their governments.

Let's look at what's involved in being a proactive citizen.

There are two aspects to citizenship: the first is the formal aspect, a legal status that confers rights and responsibilities within a polity. The second aspect is the idea of 'citizens' as participants in a common political enterprise - basically citizenship as practice.

In simple terms the distinctions between the two formulations can be summed up as: to be a citizen and to act as a citizen.
At a State level, our focus is the latter.
The Western Australian Citizenship strategy - which has been informed by extensive and ongoing community consultation - is based on four key areas.

Citizens have told us:

they need to know and understand not only how the systems of government work, but how to 'navigate' them. They want practical 'how do I' information, including information on issues

they need me barriers which hinder their ability to participate removed.

even if they know me system and there are no barriers, the strategy needs to ensure there are mechanisms in place that allow people 'in'.
Does the system allow them to engage?

in order to build civil society and a healthy democracy, they need processes and outcomes mat nurture public trust and confidence in democratic processes.

Active citizenship requires a consideration of rights and responsibilities both citizens' and those of governments.
There tends to be generally understanding, if not agreement, about our rights (eg. freedom of speech and religious expression, equality before the law) although debate in this regard is essential in developing some underpinning principles that bring people together in a democracy.

Responsibilities can be more problematic, m citizenship terms, governments have a number of responsibilities, including to:

be open and accountable

consult with seniors to find out their needs

provide appropriate services to address these needs

ensure seniors are able to input into decision-making especially as it relates to them and to ways of determining what their needs are.

build the sense of worth and value of all its citizens.

The responsibilities of government go hand in hand with citizen responsibilities. Seniors have a responsibility to be informed on issues of concern and to participate as they see fit in decision-making mat affects them and beyond.

By becoming better informed and more active in community activities and decision making which affects their lives, active citizens play a role in keeping governments honest, open and accountable.
Civic engagement / being an active citizen is an effective way of developing citizenship capacity.
From both a citizen and a government perspective, engaging seniors in decision making which affects their lives increases me government's chances of 'getting it right"- benefiting both citizens and government.

"We teach reading, writing and maths by having students do them, but we teach democracy by lecture".

Democracy is a way of doing and being, not a political textbook.
We need to build the capacity of citizens to participate more effectively.
Civic engagement by seniors not only addresses their silencing but can lead to a greater sense of security, (e.g. their input may lead to increased street lighting, better transport etc).
It also promotes greater communication and connection between and across gender, culture, age and location. It increases their confidence and ability to challenge existing myths and stereotypes and validates seniors as equally legitimate stakeholders in society.
In the words of Anita Roddick, the owner of the Body Shop: "Unless people like us take a stand, we won't get better as a society". And if you are thinking that your actions won't make a difference, let me end with this quote:

"If you think you're too small to be effective, you've never been to bed with a mosquito."

Source: Dr Christina Gillgren…….Director, Citizens & Civics Unit,
Policy Office, Department of the Premier & Cabinet (WA)
Presentation to The International Federation on Ageing, 6th Global Conference & Expo - Maturity Matters

*Comment; I believe that unless we take some of these qualities 'onboard', we shall be a poorer society for it!

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