Tina Ambani's "Harmony" brings out monograph on ageing in India

Mumbai, Mar 11 (UNI) ''Harmony'', an initiative of the Dhirubhai Ambani Memorial Trust, today unveiled the country's first research paper on ageing in India, stressing on the importance of family ties and developing programmes to help families become more elderly-friendly.

The programme, called ''Harmony-Celebrate Age'', a social initiave of the Trust, is aimed at multi-dimensional activities related to senior citizens with a view to improve their quality of life.

It was as part of its research and training activities in the field of ageing that the monograph on ''Ageing in India in the 21st century: A Research Agenda (Priority Areas and Methodological Issues)'', was brought out, according to a release here.

Maharashtra Minister of Social Justice Chandrakant Handore released the monograph while Ms Tina Ambani presided over the function.

The first in a series of monographs, it highlightes the need to strengthen family ties and evolve suitable family-centric programmes and schemes.

Authored by Dr S Siva Raju, the monograph constitutes the United Nations-backed initiative that seeks to outline a global agenda for ageing and related issues. Under the UN initiative, each member country has to prepare its own agenda/report keeping social conditions in mind. The UN's ultimate objective is to facilitate formulation and implementation of conducive public policies on ageing and influence the direction and priorities of scientific gerontology across the world. The Harmony Report is the first of its kind in India.

A day long seminar on ''Quality of Life of India's Silver: Need for Harmony Among Generations'' was also organised on the occasion in which experts deliberated on various issues related to ageing in India.

The Harmony Initiative is a Mumbai-based non-profit organisation founded by Ms Ambani. Among others, its agenda lists out issues like female elderly, rural elderly, inter-generational bonds, community-based support programmes, life-span approaches, impact of health problems like HIV/AIDS, nutritional status, geriatric issues, elderly abuse, family relations, social networks, determinants of successful ageing and network of organisations for care of the elderly, as some of the priority areas.

UNI VP MAZ AK HT1958