The mission of the ILC Global Alliance (ILC GA) is to help societies address longevity and population ageing in positive and productive ways. Our approach is to consider ageing from individual and population perspectives, taking a whole of life approach. We highlight older people’s productivity and important contributions to family and society. We also strive to protect human rights of older persons, and to promote health and social care and protections for older people. The global alliance members carry out their mission through developing ideas, undertaking research, creating fora for debate and action, and advocating for the interests of older people at local, national and global levels. In this Masterclass, ILC Presidents will share their insights into how they influence policy, perspectives and practices at these different levels. Silvia Perel-Levin and Margaret Gillis will relate the long and winding journey towards a United Nations Convention on the Rights of Older persons and ILC GA’s important role as a Civil Society Organisation in influencing policy at a global level. They will provide insights and skills for operating with the various structures on the UN, including the Human Rights Council and associated mechanisms and committees. At a regional level, Jaco Hoffman will discuss the development and influence of the African Union Policy Framework and Plan of Action on Ageing. At a National level, David Sinclair will discuss how ILC UK aids the UK parliament in considering policies on ageing, as well as ILC UK’s broader influences on ageing across the globe. At a local level, Julie Byles and Susana Harding will discuss respective actions in Singapore and in the Hunter Region of Australia to bring the needs of older persons to the centre of decision making by local governments. The workshop will reflect on the importance of operating on global, regional, national and local levels to advocate for ageing policies that benefit older people and to ensure local actions deliver those benefits.

• Outline of activities and engagement strategies

For each level of influence, there will be a brief presentation showcasing ILC GA experience and influence, with deconstruction and discussion of the actors, actions, avenues and approaches that were taken to respond and negotiate emerging issues. Participants will then be encouraged to work through real life examples of current local, national and global issues where Civil Society Organisations could provide positive influence to improve policy and practice for older persons. They will then be guided through possible actions, how to gain support, avenues for communication and advocacy, and mechanisms to monitor the outcomes and impacts of their actions.

 

Learning objectives:

• To IDENTIFY different decision-making, governance structures and actors, and their roles in improving the experiences of people as they age.

• To PRACTICE skills in communicating across different structures and networks.

• To ENGAGE with tools and methods for assessing older people’s needs and to feed into priority setting activities.

 

Expected outcomes:

Knowledge of governance structures, methods for responding to emerging issues, and confidence in advocating in the interest of older people.

Emeritus Professor Julie Byles

Co-President, ILC Global Alliance | Director, ILC Australia

Emeritus Professor Julie Byles AO BMed PhD FAAHMS, is an Honorary Professor at the University of Newcastle in Australia. Julie has held local, national, and international roles in the International Clinical Epidemiology Network, the International Gerontology and Geriatrics Association, the International Longevity Centre Global Alliance (currently co-President), and has worked with the World Health Organization in various advisory roles. Julie is a Fellow and Life Member of the Australian Association of Gerontology, and was National President from 2011-2013. She is also a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Science. She is the Chair of the Hunter Ageing Alliance which strives to improve local conditions for older people with a focus on their participation, housing, health and social care.

E. Professor Julie Byles is an internationally renowned researcher on aging and health systems. As a clinical epidemiologist, Julie’s interests are in risk determination, health assessment, other health care evaluation, and measurement of health outcomes. As a Gerontologist her interests in ageing include the role of health and long term care services, preventive activities, and treatments in maintaining quality of life for older people. She is currently serving on the Lancet Commission for Long-term Care.

 

Ms. Margaret Gillis Co-President, ILC Global Alliance

Margaret Gillis is the founding President of the International Longevity Centre Canada, part of a global alliance of 16 Centers dedicated to the needs and rights of older people. An award-winning executive and innovative leader, Margaret played a key role in establishing the Age-friendly Community program in Canada and internationally, this program is now in over 900 Canadian communities and 26 countries worldwide. Other career highlights include a joint government-NGO project to protect seniors in disasters which was recognized with an individual award by Her Majesty the Queen.

Margaret has strong credentials regarding human rights, working with and speaking at the UN General Assembly on behalf of older people, as Chair of the National Advocacy Working Group at the Global Alliance on the Rights of Older People (GAROP) and at the Working Group on Mainstreaming Aging at the UNECE. With a background in health promotion, protection and programming for the aged, women and children, Margaret is committed to improving the rights of older people.

 

Ms Susana Concordo Harding

Senior Director, International Longevity Centre Singapore, Tsao Foundation

Susana has more than 23 years work experience in the ageing sector, with specialisation in policy advocacy and program/service development. She also works on research projects, and her interests are ageing and gender and its intersectionality, caregiving, financial security, community resilience, active and successful ageing, long term care, empowerment, and community development. She is also the Honorary Treasurer of the Board of Directors at Centre for Seniors, a non-profit, Social Service Agency that is dedicated to helping seniors to remain meaningfully engage in work and in life, as well as Council Member of the Gerontological Society of Singapore. Last year, she was awarded the Prof Gary Andrews International Fellow by the Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG) and recently awarded, Ageing Asia Global Ageing Trailblazer at its 13th Eldercare Innovation Awards 2025.

 

Ms Silvia Perel-Levin

President, ILC Israel | Chair, UN NGO Committee on Ageing (Geneva)Silvia Perel-Levin is an internationally recognized expert on ageing, health policy, and the human rights of older persons. She is President of ILC Israel and serves as Vice-chair of the NGO Committee on Ageing in Geneva, committee she chaired from 2014-2022. With decades of experience working with WHO, the United Nations, and civil society, she has been a leading advocate for global action on ageism, elder abuse, and the promotion of human rights in later life. Silvia’s work focuses on promoting a UN Convention on the human rights of older persons and raising the visibility of older persons throughout the UN system. Silvia edited the book “Ageing of the Oppressed: A Pandemic of Intersecting Injustice”.

 

Professor Jaco Hoffman

Jaco Hoffman (DPhil, Oxon) is Professor of Socio-Gerontology in the Optentia Research Unit at North-West University, where he leads the Ageing and Generational Dynamics in Africa (AGenDA) programme. He is also a non-stipendiary Professorial Fellow at the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, University of Oxford, where he coordinates the African Research Network on Ageing (AFRAN). He is an Honorary Professor at the Institute of Ageing in Africa, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town; a past president of the South African Gerontological Association (SAGA); and a founding member of the South African Older Persons Forum. Jaco co-directs the International Longevity Centre (ILC) South Africa and is a director on the Board of the International Federation of Ageing (IFA). He is one of 15 Lancet Commissioners on Long-Term Care for Older Persons.

 

Mr. David Sinclair

David has worked in policy and research on ageing and demographic change for 20 years.

David has a particular interest in older consumers, active ageing, financial services, adult vaccination, and the role of technology in an ageing society. He has a strong knowledge of UK and global ageing society issues, from healthcare to pensions and housing to transport.

David has presented on longevity and demographic change across the world (from Seoul to Singapore and Sydney to Stormont). And he has published reports on a range of topics including transport, technology, health and consumption.

David is an International Advisor for the Sau Po Centre on Ageing at Hong Kong University and a member of the External Advisory board for the University of Surrey Centre of Excellence on Ageing.

David has worked as an expert for the pan-European Age Platform for 15 years and is the former Vice-Chair of the Government’s Consumer Expert Group for Digital Switchover. For ten years he chaired a London based charity (Open Age) which enables older people to sustain their physical and mental fitness, maintain active lifestyles and develop new and stimulating interests.