The Best4OlderLGBTI – Best Interest for the Older LGBTI Project’s launching conference, entitled “Sexuality in Ageing: Time for Equality and Inclusion”, will be held on February 28th. The initiative, which has the support of CINTESIS – Center for Health Technology and Services Research, will take place at the Abel Salazar Institute of Biomedical Sciences (ICBAS) at the University of Porto.

According to the organization, this conference will address “the issue of discrimination based on age, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sexual characteristics of older people.” The event is addressed towards health and social professionals, non-governmental organizations, LGBTI rights activists, stakeholders and the general public.

The Best4OlderLGBTI Project aims to fight discrimination and promote the rights of older LGBTI people (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transvestite, Transgender or Intersex) by raising awareness of different groups and contributing to a more inclusive society.

The campaign will be carried out in six Member States (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands and Romania), taking into account the reduction of inequality and discrimination in public services, health care and social services, as well as encouraging the reporting of such cases.

In Portugal, the Project is developed by the Assistance and Service Center 050+ (CAS050 +), an organization led by Constança Paúl, CINTESIS researcher, that is focused on pursuing initiatives to promote health and wellness, active ageing and quality of life among the elderly. The initiative has CINTESIS and ICBAS as partners and counts with the support of the European Union through the Rights, Equality and Citizenship program (REC Program).

In 2015, the Eurobarometer Survey on Discrimination showed that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation was the second main form of discrimination in the European Union (58%), followed by discrimination based on gender identity (56%) and age discrimination (42%). With the ageing of the population, there is naturally an increasing number of elderly people who suffer because of the stereotypes and from attacks on their sexual rights.

For more information visit the official website of the project: https://www.best4older-lgbti.org/