On October 1st we celebrated the International Day of Older Persons. This commemoration date was defined by the UN in 1990 and, since then, has been adopted by several countries in the world, including Brazil, in order to recognize the contributions of elderly people to society.

It is also a date to think about the challenges of this Third Age as well as the possible solutions that we can adopt to solve the problems of this portion of the population.

It’s important to remember that, according to the 2018       Population Estimates Research of the IBGE (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística), the elderly will represent 25% of the population in 2043 – there will be over 58 million elderly people in a country where the total population will be of about 233 million.

This same research demonstrates that, within 13 years, our country will have more elderly people than children under 14. In 2013 we had 50 people aged 60 and over for every 100 children under 14. Today, this relationship is already that of 63 elderly people for every 100 children and, in 2031, it will be 102 to 100. If the IBGE projection materializes, in 2055, Brazil will have twice as many elderly people as          children.

For this reason having been active with the cause of the elderly for several decades, the Fundação Britânica de     Beneficência, has been rethinking its action and developing new projects that could meet the new challenges of Brazil’s Third Age.

And we are proud to say that, during this month of October, we took an important next step in this process: we launched our Conviviality Centre for the Elderly in the Butantã region.

The Conviviality Centre (Centro de Convivência) is a space that offers several activities contributing towards a process of healthy ageing. It develops autonomy and sociability, strengthens family ties, and community living helps to         prevent situations of social risk.

Our Centre operates at the Butantã unit of Cultura Inglesa and was inaugurated on October 16th. Initially, we are offering workshops in Occupational Therapy, Memory, Theatre and other activities that could stimulate the elderly, physically and mentally, three mornings a week.

All members of the British Community are more than welcome to come and see the space and participate in our activities. Just send an email to contact@britishsociety.org.br to sign up or receive more information.

If you have any doubts, about our Project or if you want to know more about our work, please send us a message and we will be pleased to reply.

More information and photos can be seen on Fundação Britânica’s blog: https://fundacaobritanica.org.br/centro-de-convivencia-fundacao-britanica/