At the well-prepared dialogue meeting at the Talk Town 2018 festival, the organisation Feminist Change has raised the subject of becoming and being old. World’s Women in Denmark have contributed to the joint discussion with a focus on ethnic minorities. You can hear the interview with our representative Olga Fruerlund on our Facebook page. In Olga Fruerlund’s opinion, it is fantastic to be older in Denmark because you have the opportunity to be active. Olga hopes to still be alive when her grandchildren have grown up. What matters to her, is that she is active and can stay active and help others. She encourages all elderly women to do the same. Olga uses the World’s Women in Denmark to stay in good shape: She actively participates in the association’s dance group and Pilates team. She even sings in the group “World’s Sirens” and she often goes out with the networks she has created in the two associations. However, Olga’s family has top priority for sure.
In the follow-up discussion, the audience mentioned that many of the individuals from ethnic minorities are lonely, because they are not used to being active as elderly. They do not know the culture and do not know how to contact other elderly people. Perhaps the municipality must do more in order to provide the elderly with information regarding the different offers available to the elderly. Free interpreting assistance for seniors with ethnic minority background must be a right.
There are certainly many different nuances to take into account. We have agreed with Daghøjskolen For Invandrerkvinder, which we have invited to this event, to continue working with the subject and to prepare a proposal for the municipality of Copenhagen (Københavns Kommunes Ældrerådet).