KATHMANDU, Oct 1: The Ministry of Women, Children, Gender and Sexual Minorities and Social Security has initiated a process to develop a ‘Senior Citizen Experience Bank’ to preserve and transfer senior citizens’ lifelong knowledge, skills, experiences and life lessons to the new generation.
On the occasion of the 36th International Day of Older Persons, the ministry has advanced a new concept of connecting the experiences of senior citizens with the younger generation by establishing them as valuable sources of the nation’s knowledge, skills and experience.
Minister for Women, Children, Gender and Sexual Minorities and Social Security Sita Badi underlined that the knowledge, skills, experiences and life lessons of senior citizens are valuable intellectual and social assets.
“A process has been initiated to develop a ‘Senior Citizen Experience Bank’ through the use of digital technology to institutionalize the preservation, archiving and transfer of senior citizens’ experiences to the new generation,” she said.
Minister Badi emphasized that the initiative would strengthen intergenerational knowledge transfer by transforming the knowledge and experience gained by one generation into guidance for the next.
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The experience bank initiative advanced by the ministry aims to broaden the traditional perspective on senior citizens. Its main concept is to utilize senior citizens’ knowledge, skills and life lessons for society and the next generation, alongside ensuring their social security, healthcare and protection.
Minister Badi further said senior citizens should not be treated merely as individuals in need of care and protection, but as active, experienced, respected and indispensable members of society.
The ministry plans to document the experiences senior citizens have gained in agriculture, entrepreneurship, professions, education, administration, arts and culture, traditional knowledge, social life and various practical fields using digital technology, and turn them into a system for passing knowledge on to future generations.
The main foundation of the experience bank will be intergenerational knowledge transfer. The aim is to ensure that the knowledge and experience senior citizens have gained through decades of practice and life do not disappear with them, but are preserved and made useful for future generations.
Through the experience bank, the knowledge and skills of senior citizens will be systematically recorded, creating a foundation for connecting the new generation with them. The idea is to gradually develop the system so that students, youth and the new generation can freely learn from and seek guidance from the knowledge, experiences and life lessons of senior citizens.
It is expected that the experience one generation gains over a long period will guide the next generation and further strengthen the transfer of practical and traditional knowledge in society.
The ministry’s concept aims not only to establish senior citizens as beneficiaries who receive services and facilities from the state, but also to position them as knowledge-givers who share skills, transfer experiences and guide the new generation.
“Real respect for senior citizens will be established when their experiences are listened to, their knowledge is used respectfully, and an environment for meaningful participation in social and decision-making processes is created,” Minister Badi emphasized.
She stated that changing family structures, migration, urbanization and lifestyles have created new challenges related to the health, social security, care, loneliness and social participation of senior citizens.
Minister Badi asserted that ensuring safe, dignified and meaningful lives for older people is a shared responsibility of families, communities, society and the state.
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