Annual meeting 2020

It is with the biggest regret that the Board must inform you that we have decided to cancel our Annual Meeting which was scheduled on March 25 -27 2020 in Tallinn. Due to the risks of the global situation of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), we had no choice but to take this step.

The Board has a responsibility on how to respond under risk situations and has been constantly monitoring the situation with regards to the Eniec Annual Meeting. Before adopting this unprecedented and sad decision, the board has consulted with national health authorities, have talked to the Chair of the Organizing Committee and has heard the opinions of some Eniec Members.

However, it is with great pleasure that we announce that our Annual Meeting 2021 will be held in Tallinn on March 10- 11 -12. Siri Jackson, Chair of the organizing committee has said “the members of the organizing committee are endeavor to bring Eniec to Tallinn, and we look forward to working one more year to see our dream come true here in Estonia”

The Special Newsletter that contains the Annual Report can be accessed by clicking on the link below:

specialnewsletter_2020

 

The Legacy of Cultural Contexts in the Lives and Identities of Minority Older Persons in Europe 

Cultural factors and social identities as a source of support for older people

 

”On ju meil kõigil üks suur unistus: olla vanaduses nii ilus ja tugev nagu üks vana puu.”
“All of us have a dream when we will be old; to be beautiful and strong as an old tree.”
Elfriede Bosien

 

Thirty years ago, the Berlin Wall, a symbol between East and West, the socialist and capitalist world, was overthrown. Europe believed in the idea of unity. Today we see that psychological and ideological walls are not that easily broken. Old migrants and old people from minorities carry in themselves identities that we do not see but that we must be able to identify to be able to provide intercultural elderly care. Identities are a social construct. Identities are dynamic and ever-changing concepts that are changed also through ideologies present in societies. The historical changes in political systems have affected the social identities of older people, old migrants, and older adults from minority groups. Identity is part of a person’s self-conception and self-perception, and it is also the result of labeling mechanisms arising from encounters between contrasting individuals and groups. Some of these mechanisms refer to family systems, religious systems, communication, and political systems.

This year we would like to invite ENIEC members to discuss the concept of social identities as a legacy of political systems. We would like to approach how this legacy has a direct impact in the context of providing intercultural social and health care for minority older people and old migrants in Europe, with special attention to identities among the elderly from East European countries who come from Soviet times.

We’re privileged to be invited to have the ENIEC Annual Meeting in Tallinn by the City of Tallinn. We’re happy to announce that Tallinn City Government is supporting our meeting and inviting us to have our Opening Ceremony at Tallinn Raekoda, Tallinn City Hall. www.tallinn.ee/eng/

 

Siiri Jaakson, Chair of the Organizing Committee,
with Tuulikki Hakala, Eva Rönkkö, Susanna Lehtovaara, Inka Lehtonen and Alina Ahtamo