Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM), in cooperation with the Protector of Citizens of the Republic of Serbia, organized the eleventh meeting of SCTM Network for Social Protection on November 22, 2023, in Belgrade. The key topics of this meeting were active and healthy aging, with special reference to the recently adopted Strategy of Active and Healthy Aging in the Republic of Serbia for the period 2024-2030, as well as development of services for older persons at local level, presentation of social and health care services for older women living in the countryside, as well as inter-municipal cooperation in improving the accessibility of services and information, in accordance with the principles of universal design.
Participants of the Meeting were first addressed by Zoran Pašalić, Protector of Citizens, who spoke about the position and needs of elderly women living in the countryside.
"We must always keep in mind how many of our elderly citizens live in the countryside. That number is 336.000 and 76.000 of them are over 80 years old. I would not like to see them as social protection beneficiaries. On the contrary, it should be borne in mind that older women in the countryside are primarily the bearers of our tradition. The fact that most of them live alone and manage to maintain their households shows how important they are and how much attention must be paid to them. We are trying to create a network that will provide them with the support they deserve", Pašalić pointed out.
PhD Marina Vidojević, Deputy Minister for Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs, emphasized that services for the elderly at the local level play a key role in creating a supportive environment for them.
"This meeting is an excellent opportunity to jointly review past successes, overcome obstacles, and define steps we will take in order to improve social protection. We have this responsibility to create an environment in which our elderly fellow citizens will be able to live with dignity in a well-deserved old age. It is necessary to strengthen cooperation between national and local institutions, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector, to provide a variety of services that will meet all the needs of the elderly population", said Dr. Marina Vidojević.
Nikola Tarbuk, SCTM Secretary General, emphasized the importance of continuous cooperation that SCTM has with the Protector of Citizens.
"At today's meeting, we continue the exchange of knowledge, information and experiences on very important topics, such as active and healthy aging, improving the position of the elderly, development of services in the community, availability of social and health care services, as well as the importance of establishing inter-municipal cooperation. The strategic determination of our organization, among others, is the commitment to the improvement of social protection system, through work on improving the availability, quality, and efficiency of social protection services at the local level", Tarbuk emphasized and stressed out the importance of the project "Support to sustainable community-based social services and inclusion policies at the local level", financed by the European Union and implemented by SCTM.
The working sessions of the Network's meeting began with the presentation of the report Analysis of the situation, challenges and needs in the functioning of the social protection system at the local level, which was prepared within and for the needs of the project "Support to sustainable community-based social services and inclusion policies at the local level". Preparing this Analysis, local practices, needs and capacities of local governments in providing social protection services were determined, as well as challenges that local governments face in planning, financing, ensuring the quality and availability of social protection services. The findings of the Analysis served as a basis for defining different types of support to local governments in improving the social protection system and providing services for citizens.
The Special Report of the Protector of Citizens on the representation of social and health care services for elderly women living in the countryside: availability and content of home help and home treatment services were presented, followed by a panel discussion on the topic of active and healthy aging and development of services in the community for the elderly. Project activities implemented as part of inter-municipal cooperation in improving the accessibility of services and information, implemented by City of Novi Sad, City of Belgrade, City Municipality of Vračar, City Municipality of Savski Venac were presented in the final part of the meeting of Network for Social Protection.
