VIENNA : The Seniors’ Council and the Journalists’ Club presented awards in the categories of media, the world of work and society in Parliament. The President of the National Council Wolfgang Sobotka the Austrian Council for the Elderly and the Austrian Journalists Club. They invited a g e Awards experience age together on Thursday, November 10, 2022 at 6:00 p.m into the parliament in the Hofburg. Everyday life, as well as the possibilities and wishes of senior citizens have changed significantly in recent years. By awarding the “Senior Rose” and “Senior Nessel” prizes, the Austrian Senior Citizens’ Council and the Austrian Journalists’ Club have made a contribution to adapting the public image of senior citizens to the changes. After 10 years of emotional and impressive awards, this award also needed an adjustment and so on 10.11. awarded the new “a·g·e Award” for the first time. With the presentation of the a·g·e Awards, the Austrian Senior Citizens’ Council and the Austrian Journalists’ Club are pursuing the goal of creating public awareness of the topic of old age. In addition to raising awareness, the media landscape should also be qualified and an impulse for the world of work and society should be given. Experiencing old age together – against the background of demographic changes in Austria and Europe. The new “a g e Award” was be presented to the winners in three categories at a ceremony by members of the jury.
Opening words Wolfgang Sobotka President of the National Council, Brief statements Ingrid Korosec President of the Austrian Council for Senior Citizens, Peter Kostelka President of the Austrian Council of Senior Citizens, Norbert Welzl President of the Austrian Journalist Club. Award ceremony Presentation of the a g e awards in the categories Media | world of work | company. Program moderation Heilwig Pfanzelter She entire program was organized very brilliantly. Before he thanked all the guests for the program. President of the National Council Mag. Wolfgang Sobotka welcomed around 150 guests in the roof foyer of the Hofburg for the first presentation of the awards in the categories of media, working world and society. LAbg Ingrid Korosec , President of the Senior Citizens’ Council and the Austrian Senior Citizens’ Association, stated at the opening of the award:“Our common goal is to raise awareness in the media, society and companies with the new a g e award. I’ve been fighting for a paradigm shift for years, for a change in the way older people are portrayed. The “new elders” are active and committed. They want people to talk to them and not about them.
There are impressive initiatives and commitments for older people, especially in society and in the world of work. In addition to the media, they make a valuable contribution to the formation of public opinion. With the new a g e award, we want to put these so-called “role models” in the spotlight, show them the appreciation they deserve and hopefully motivate others to do the same.Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all submitters. Every single one deserves an award.” Dr Peter Kostelka , President of the Senior Citizens’ Council and the Association of Pensioners in Austria:”It is high time not only to rethink the term “aging”, but also to live this new way of thinking in everyday practice. Older people are a target group eagerly courted by business and – at least before elections – by politics. As a single pensioner, however, they are often still “on the sidelines”, although their place should be in the middle of society. With the new a g e award, they are in the limelight. In the limelight of all those who not only recognized the signs of the times, but also put them into practice, filled them with life and thus lived up to the title of the event – EXPERIENCING AGE TOGETHER. Today’s event honors the best examples of how aging and old age are presented to the public in a contemporary and realistic way. When, if not now, is it time for a new attitude towards old age!”Ing. Norbert Welzl , President of the Austrian Journalist Club, addressed the importance of the new award for the media in his opening statement and stated:”For the Austrian Journalists’ Club, it is particularly important to support the a g e award. We live in a media society and the media determine opinions. The social coexistence of generations must not be characterized by negative reporting. The a g e award is intended to honor positive examples in public perception, but also to show a lack of sensitivity and intuition when dealing with this topic.”Awarding of the awards. From the numerous submissions for the activities in the period from September 2021 to September 2022, a jury selected three nominees and one winner per category. The jury consisted of the chairman Ing. Norbert Welzl and Dr. Harald Glatz (consumer protection spokesman), Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Franz Kolland (Head of the Center for Gerontology and Health Research), LAbg Ingrid Korosec, Dr. Peter Kostelka, Martina Rupp (journalist & moderator) and Michael Straberger (President of the Austrian Advertising Council). Moderator Heilwig Pfanzelter hosted the evening. The musical framework was provided by the “Little Big Family” under the direction of Christof Moser.
About the prices: a g e Award in the media category
The three nominations:
1.) The radio college series “Years Won” by Dr. Margarethe Engelhardt, sent on October 11th. until 14.10.2021 in the program of Ö1. The Ö1 focus “Years Won” took up the topic in order to appreciate the variety of initiatives by older and old people. At the same time, Ö1 offered a platform for sharing knowledge and networking. A very impressive journalistic contribution, also felt the jury.
2.) As a second nomination: Good news for all older semesters who like to do sports: “In old freshness – how sport affects the aging process.” Sent in the Ö1 science format “Dimensions” on September 5th, 2022. The radio contribution by Daphne Hruby, BA, notes that exercise can also counteract a burning issue of our time: loneliness in old age. It’s not just about disease prevention, but above all about quality of life.
3.) The article “How difficult it is to get a loan as a pensioner” by Mag. Alexander U. Mathé was published in the Wiener Zeitung on April 30, 2022. Alexander Mathé shows how seniors are systematically disadvantaged by banks when it comes to lending. Even with the best credit rating, the financial institution often answers: No. The article explains how many senior citizens are powerless in the face of this situation, but also how progressive digitization is disadvantageous for pensioners in the banking sector.
The three nominations:
1.) Generation dialogue and generation management at Klinik Favoriten. 35% of the employees at Klinik Favoriten are over 50 years old. Active dialogue between generations and comprehensive generation management was implemented as well as health promotion for employees and age-appropriate work. The Klinik Favoriten was also recently awarded a Nestor Gold by the Ministry of Social Affairs.
2.) The Viennese social enterprise Vollpension brings together what belongs together: old, young, grumpy, funny, colourful, grey, quiet, loud and everyone in between. Full board was established 10 years ago. The idea behind it was to counteract poverty in old age on the one hand and loneliness in old age on the other. Two of the most serious problems of our generation. In view of these challenges, the vision when it was founded was clear: a world in which old and young learn with and from each other on an equal footing, live together and help each other. What we have in common must come before what divides us – poverty and loneliness in old age must have no place in our society.
3.) The University Hospital AKH Vienna was nominated for its measures to design an age-appropriate working environment. The University Hospital AKH Vienna is the largest hospital in Austria and is one of the best hospitals in the world. Around 9,000 employees from a wide variety of professional groups are employed. The AKH conducts employee surveys, develops improvement measures in a mixed-generation health circle in order to maintain, support, improve or restore the ability to work and, with the initiative: work ability, offers advice, support and assistance to employees who are at risk of health or who are ill.
The a g e award in the working environment category was presented by the jury to Klinik Favoriten for its generation dialogue and generation management. The award was accepted by the two department heads, Maria Skultety-Wolf and Susanne Schneck, as well as Ursula Fiala from the company health promotion department at Klinik Favoriten.
The jury particularly liked the approach of interaction between the generations, in which the seniors pass on their knowledge to the younger ones and in return receive help and support with digital questions. This cooperation and mutual support increase social respect and mutual appreciation and promote understanding for the challenges of young and old in everyday working life.
a g e Award in the Society category
The jury chose the following three from the numerous submissions:
1.) The “Plaudernetz” – social participation over the phone, a campaign by Caritas Vienna. The chat network is a quick help in moments of loneliness: just call and be connected with other people. It closes an important gap in social security in Austria and makes it easy to participate in society over the phone. The chat network is there for everyone who is looking for a good conversation. When you call, you will be connected to chat partners who have volunteered with Caritas because they like to chat and listen.
2.) Wohnbuddy, a living platform for young and old. Organized by WGE! Living together, a non-profit association based in Vienna. Wohnbuddy arranges suitable living partners for older people as well as senior citizens’ and nursing homes. These are mostly young people who make time available for affordable housing, time for joint activities and support in everyday life.
3.) Make digitization tangible for everyone – Servicestelle DigitalSenior:innen, submitted by Edith Simöl. Experts from the fields of adult education, media education, information technology and organizational development support the conception, planning and implementation of offers within the framework of senior citizen education. The service point is operated by the non-profit association ÖIAT. ÖIAT stands for Austrian Institute for Applied Telecommunications. The institute is the contact for senior-friendly teaching and learning. The a g e award in the Society category went to the Wohnbuddy flagship model. The prize was accepted by Mrs. Marlene Welzl, the co-founder of Wohnbuddy, on behalf of the team. In particular, the jury praised the approach of using living space sustainably and across generations, thereby creating an affordable way for generations to live together. This initiative brings the generations together under one roof and thus promotes interaction and social coexistence in a pleasant way and encourages discussion of the generation issue in the most personal area, namely in the living area. What many are still familiar with in rural regions, namely several generations living under one roof, is rarely found in urban areas. This initiative also makes this possible and meanwhile more than 400 successful placements have been carried out.
Special awards from the jury: Award of an Ouch!
The award guidelines of the a g e award stipulate that the jury can decide on special awards. Ouch! was therefore awarded for the current “Cadillac commercial” by Bestattung Altbart from Vienna.The jury pointed out that even though the senior citizens portrayed in brightly colored clothes are presented cheerfully in the nicest weather at the beginning, the direct visual connection between the senior citizens enjoying their twilight years and a passing hearse is chosen insensitively. This lacks ethical and moral principles in the dramaturgy of the commercial. In a comprehensive written statement, excerpts of which were presented at the event, Mr. Heinrich Altbart explained that everyone deals with death differently and that the spot attempted to approach the subject of death humorously with a “Viennese joke”. . In conclusion, Mr. Heinrich Altbart deeply regrets in his remarks that if individuals feel or have felt discriminated against or belittled by the commercial in question, this was not his intention.