wfn.org | Teleconference to target 'society for all ages'

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Aug. 9, 1999 News media contact: Linda Bloom**(212) 870-3803**New York
10-21-71B{417}

NOTE:  Third in a series.

By United Methodist News Service
.
An Oct. 16 satellite teleconference will consider what "a society for all
ages" could mean.

Coinciding with the U.N. International Year of Older Persons, the program
will be broadcast between 1:30 and 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Producers are the
United Methodist Teleconference Connection and Global Action on Aging, in
cooperation with other agencies.

The teleconference will examine the major roadblocks that prevent society
from treating all age groups fairly. It will suggest ways that the talents,
experiences and wisdom of older people could be used to build stronger
communities for everyone.

Economic issues, such as the proposed privatization of Social Security, will
be discussed, as well as how basic human rights are applied to various age
groups. The resources offered by both young and old will be explored, and
communities that have created successful intergenerational programs will be
identified.

The Rev. Arthur L. Cribbs Jr. will moderate an in-studio panel for the
program. Cribbs, a United Church of Christ clergyman with 25 years of
broadcast experience, is an advocate of intergenerational programs pairing
the wisdom and experience of older people with the energy and vision of
youth.

Panelists are Eric Kingson, Susanne Paul and Julia Alvarez. Kingson, a
professor of social work at Syracuse University, is an expert on Social
Security and co-author of  Social Security in the 21st Century and Social
Security and Medicare: A Policy Primer. He served as a policy adviser to two
presidential commissions - the National Commission on Social Security Reform
and the 1994 Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform.

Paul, a United Methodist, is president of the New York-based Global Action
on Aging and co-author of Humanity Comes of Age. She is the former
chairwoman of the Non-Governmental Organizations Committee on Aging at the
United Nations.

Alvarez has served as associate permanent representative of the Dominican
Republic Mission to the United Nations for more than 15 years. During that
period, she has initiated U.N. resolutions on aging and established the U.N.
Institute for Research and Training of Women.

So far, more than 60 downlink sites in 28 states have been registered for
the teleconference. For more information, visit www.umcom.org/umtc/aging or
call (212) 870-3802.

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