Side event at the UNECE MinisterialConference on Ageing Rome, 16 June 2022
13:15–14:15
Orange Room, floor -1
Organized by Bulgaria, Georgia and UNFPA

In follow-up to the Ministerial Conference on Demographic Resilience held in Sofia in December 2021, this side event will discuss the shifts that are necessary to allow societies to thrive amid rapid demographic change. Speakers will focus on the importance of rights, health and dignity in responses to population ageing, and will explore how harnessing the opportunities that come with population ageing can strengthen societies' demographic resilience.

Moderator:
Marta Diavolova, Deputy Regional Director a.i., UNFPA Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Opening remarks:
Zurab Azarashvili, Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health And Social Affairs, Georgia
Velislava Petrova, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bulgaria
Diene Keita, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNFPA Deputy Executive Director (Programme)

Panelists:
Narek Mkrtchyan, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Armenia
Jovanka Trenchevska, Minister of Labour and Social Policy, North Macedonia
Marcel Spatari, Minister of Labor and Social Protection, Republic of Moldova
Stuart Gietel-Basten, Professor, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology