Older Persons and Crises: Rights and Challenges

The “Older Persons and Crises: Rights and Challenges” Conference will be happening on 20-22 March 2025, in Helsinki.

There are more aged people in the world than ever, and their relative proportion of populations has been increasing. Despite this, the needs of older persons in the recent crises in the world – wars, pandemics, natural disasters, etc. – is a topic to which so far relatively little attention has been paid by international and domestic institutions and other actors.  The conference Older Persons in Crises: Rights and Challenges aims to examine these issues in a comprehensive manner and seek solutions.  

The international conference will be held at the University of Helsinki (Main Building, Great Hall, Fabianinkatu 33) on 20-22 March 2025. It is organized by The Erik Castrén Institute of International Law and Human Rights (Law Faculty, University of Helsinki), in association with Leo Mechelin Foundation, and HelpAge International.  

  

The Conference Patron is President Tarja Halonen. She will address the Conference on the theme Sustainable Development and Older People

  

Keynote speakers at the Conference include:    

Claudia Mahler UN Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons 

Mia Seppo Assistant Director General, ILO 

Hanna Nohynek WHO SAGE chair, Chief Physician, Department of Health Security in the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare 

  

Plenary speakers include, among others:    

Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen Professor, Director of the Centre of Excellence on Global Mobility Law, University of Copenhagen  

Kati Juva co-president, IPPNW  

Teppo Kröger Professor, University of Jyväskylä 

Annu Lehtinen Executive Director, Finnish Refugee Council  

Laura Mills Amnesty International 

Anna Mäki-Petäjä-Leinonen Professor, University of Eastern Finland 

Krista Oinonen Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs  

Carole Osero-Ageng’o HelpAge International 

Petteri Taalas Professor, Director General of the Finnish Meteorological Institute 

 

The Conference will set up four Working Groups:  

WG I: Wars and Conflicts 

WG II: Environment and Climate Change 

WG III: International Convention on the Rights of Older Persons? 

WG IV: Older persons as Refugees  

You can find the programme of the conference here.