Differdange is recruiting members for its senior council

The new municipal body will be promoting of the rights of people over 60

Differdange has decided to better protect the interest of its senior citizens and to make sure seniors are well integrated in society. That is why the Luxembourgish municipality which counts some 27 thousand inhabitants announced on Tuesday that it will be establishing a new municipal body, tasked with pursuing these two goals.

The senior communal council is now looking for its first members.

Policies should be driven by their beneficiaries

According to the municipal website of Differdange, its senior council in the making will be entirely independent and voluntary. Its aim is to defend the interests of the 60+ generation in the political, social and economic spheres.

Currently, the new consultative body is on the lookout for its first members among the group whose interests it is meant to promote. Those seniors who live in one of the five localities of Luxembourg’s third largest city and who have suggestions on how to improve it, are invited to apply now.

To do this, they need to contact the Service Senior Plus at corinne.lahure@differdange.lu or emina.ceman@differdange.lu or over the phone at 58 77 1-1566 through they will receive further guidance.

The Senior communal council is not to be confused with the Seniors’ commission – a consultative body within the Communal council of Differdange, formed after the last local elections. Senior councils are well established in France, regarded as a useful tool to keep the elderly involved in social life past their active working age.

Furthermore, the need to take extra care for seniors became apparant to many European societies over the course of the coronavirus pandemic, when their vulnerable status became even more obvious. TheMayor.EU has already reported on numerous measures of social inclusion such as home delivery of food and medicines, dedicate shopping hours open only to seniors, hotlines for psychological aid or even consultations on how to use basic computer equipment and connect to the internet.

The senior councils, however, can play a greater role in the integration of the elderly and have the potential to remain as permanent structures well beyond the end of the pandemic.