Pretoria, 01 October 2025: South Africa today joins the international community in commemorating the International Day of Older Persons, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1990 to recognise the invaluable role of older people and to draw attention to the challenges they face.
The 2025 theme, “Older persons driving local and global action: Our aspirations, our well-being, our rights”, highlights that older adults are not passive recipients of care but active agents of change whose voices and contributions must shape inclusive societies.
The commemoration coincides with the start of Social Development Month, which is observed every October under the 2025 theme “Building Resilient Families”. The campaign underscores the role of families as the foundation of society and calls on all stakeholders to provide support in strengthening family units.
It also seeks to raise awareness about available social welfare services and social security programmes while encouraging community dialogues and action plans to address pressing social challenges.
Older persons are at the heart of this work. In South Africa, many households are headed by grandparents who provide care and support to orphaned grandchildren and vulnerable children.
They offer knowledge and resiliency to society as volunteers, community advisors, and family mentors. Yet, they experience violence, social exclusion, and poverty, especially when family members exploit their old age benefits.
This year’s joint observance of Older Persons Day and Social Development Month is a reminder that building resilient families and communities requires recognising, protecting, and empowering older persons.
Their knowledge, care and lived experiences are vital resources for a stronger, more inclusive society.
ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
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