GOODWILL AMBASSADOR

Her Royal Highness the Princess Infanta Doña Cristina
HRH the Princess Infanta Doña Cristina, Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Second World Assembly on Ageing (Madrid, Spain, 8-12 April 2002)
As Goodwill Ambassador, Princess Infanta Doña Cristina, will promote the United Nations Second World Assembly on Ageing, to be held in Madrid in April 2002.
>> video message by HRH Cristina de Borbón
(you need RealPlayer to view the video - free download)		   Press Release     BIOGRAPHY

I am very pleased to speak to you today as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Second World Assembly on Ageing. We in Spain are looking forward to our important role in hosting this world event next April in Madrid.

As Goodwill Ambassador, I will be working to promote and raise awareness of the World Assembly and to call attention to the many challenges presented by the ageing of our global society. I am committed to this role, not only because of Spain's involvement as the host country, but because I believe in the importance of seizing this opportunity to respond to a changing world.

Already our global society is older than ever before in human history. In the next 50 years the number of older people will increase from about 600 million to almost 2,000 million. This is a demographic triumph and the result of remarkable technological and medical advances that are enabling people to live longer and more productive lives. As a representative of my generation, I can say that we are grateful to previous generations for these achievements and we look forward to reaping the benefits.

But this remarkable success also means that we are facing historic challenges. New and uncharted territory lies ahead. Some of us are better prepared than others, but every society must find solutions that suit different circumstances.

The slogan of the United Nations World Assembly on Ageing is "Building a Society for All Ages". Delegates from every nation of the world will be looking for ways to integrate the evolving process of global ageing within the larger process of development. The challenge is to ensure that people everywhere will be able to age with security and dignity, and to continue to participate in their societies as citizens with full rights.

 << Top page