The year 1999 has been adopted by the United Nations as the International Yea r of Older People. Associating with that year, SCNS will hold a U.S.-Japan For um on Japanese model of Senior Center (tentative theme) on August 31 this year at the site of JAPAN EXPO IN MIYAGI '97 (hosted by Miyagi prefecture, Sendai city, Sendai city Chamber of Commerce, Kahoku-shinpo), located in the Sendai port area.

Senior Center is a unique system that has been supporting the aging society in the U.S. We definitely would like to make things happen by the J apanese model of Senior Center, which will be local bases for senior people to exchange information and participate in various social activities.

As panelers, we will invite Mr. Mercy Oward, an expert working for NPO ( non profit orga nizations), which carries on a big Senior Center in Los Angeles, and Ms. Setsu ko Isoe, a Journalist working for areas such as aging and welfare issues in th e U.S.

We will also invite Mr. Naoki Tanaka, a managing director of WAC, and Ms. Kazuko Demura, the president of SCNS. Last year the New York Times took u p the issue of Senior Center in the U.S. and reported that Senior Center has entered into the changing stage while the Federal Government cut the budget fo r Senior Centers. In the Japan-U.S. Forum, the background of social necessity for Senior Centers, the latest information on them, and the environment surro unding the aged will be reported.

Setting up local bases and volunteer systems that would fit to the actual conditions in Japan, the roles of government and citizens, will also be discussed. The Japan-U.S. Forum is designed along with the EXPO's theme of "Citizen's Movement" . And the Forum is a joint program with WAC( a leading NPO, located in Shinagawa-ward, Tokyo). Ms. Kazuko Demura ,professor of Shokei College and the president of SCNS, gathered momentum to s et up the SCNS two years ago by visiting several Senior Centers in the U.S. an d meeting the aged with lively expressions on their faces.

She says "Senior Center must be not only a facility or a system for the aged but also a salon f or citizen's groups and volunteer organizations to settle problems of the elde rly in the local communities.

Sendai Citizens` Network for Seniors
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