Joke de Ruiter-Zwanikken, Vice chair and Treasurer

Joke was Chair of OWN, Europe from 2007 to spring 2021. Joke is now the Vice-Chair and Treasurer of OWN, Europe as well as Chair of OWN, Netherlands. She was a member of AGE Platform Europe’s Council of Administration for several years, and remains a member of its Healthy Aging, Age Friendly Environments, and Adequate Income taskforces. In 2000, she was honoured by Queen Beatrix with the “Orde of Orange Nassau” in recognition of contributions in two areas: to society (local, regional and national), and as carer over 30 years of a disabled woman not related to her.

During her career in social work management, Joke initiated many projects such as homecare for people with dementia and chronic illness; special care for families with “special” children, as well as for persons and children with autism. A particular interest has been the better co-ordination between formal and informal care. She co-founded what became the National Carers’ Association.

Complementing her professional life, she was a board member of a district nursing organization, and a member representing civil society on a regional board of the co-operative Rabo Bank. Other positions held included president of a fund for blind and vision-impaired people; local and regional counselor; and chair of an advisory committee of a local Council on the new Care Law.

Maria Petkova, Secretary General

Maria is OWN Europe Secretary General since January 2024, taking over from Elizabeth Sclater. She is director of Tulip Foundation since its establishment in 2004 in Sofia, Bulgaria. Its mission is to enable social inclusion and participation of all people in society. For ten years Maria represented Bulgaria in AGE Platform Europe Council, and is currently Vice-President of AGE. Current involvements include providing training on Family Group Conferencing.

On graduation with a Master’s degree in Electronics from the Technical University of Sofia in 1979. Maria worked at the Medical Academy Sofia and the Bulgarian Academy of Science, before serving as an expert at the Office of the Vice President and President of the Republic of Bulgaria between 1992 and 1997. Following that, she was a consultant on various international programmes of the Open Society Foundation Sofia, while also providing consultancy to the World Bank, UNDP and UNICEF. During 2000 – 2001 Maria worked in the Human Development Department of the World Bank Institute, Washington DC. Subsequently she became co-ordinator in Bulgaria of the Dutch Programme of Co-operating Netherlands Foundations for Central and Eastern Europe.

In 2007 HM Queen Beatrix appointed her Knight of the Order of Orange Nassau for supporting others and contributing to a just society.

Sylvia Beales is Director of BealesGelber Consult, an independent inclusive social development consultancy. From 1999 to 2016 Sylvia worked at HelpAge International, first as Policy Manager, then Head of Strategic Alliances – gaining extensive experience and connections with civil society, academia and the United Nations in policy formulation, programme initiation and evaluation with respect to global ageing, disability, gender and inequality.

Sylvia is active within the Stakeholder Group on Ageing (SGA) to profile issues of ageing in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) implementation process. As founder and co-chair of the Stakeholder Group on Ageing, Sylvia was one of five civil society representatives selected to address the 2015 UN General Assembly on ageing and the SDGs.

Sylvia currently collaborates closely with Action for Sustainable Development (A4SD) to develop and roll out its SDG monitoring toolkit and score card for Voluntary National Reviews and works on SDG monitoring in the EU with SDG Watch Europe. She is co-lead of the constituency of ageing within the UNECE Regional Coordination mechanism (RCEM) and represents the RCEM within the Major Groups and other Stakeholders (MGOS) at the global level. She is working with the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) on its ‘Leave No Woman Behind’ programme.

Her other significant involvements are strategic partnerships advisor, Africa Platform for Social Protection; core group member, Global Coalition for Social Protection; member and strategic advisor, Gray Panthers; Fellow, International Council of Social Welfare; trustee of Widows for Peace through Democracy and volunteer refugee guide, Helen Bamber Foundation for survivors of human cruelty.

Francesca Carpenedo graduated in Economics from the University of Trieste with a thesis on “Legal Aspects of International Offset Exchanges” Supervisor: Professor Paolo Cendon
She is among the founders, in 1998, of the SOLIMAI-piccola Soc. Coop. Sociale a rl, of which became also a working partner. The purpose of SOLIMAI was to provide non-residential services to the elderly and adults in need of assistance.
Her main tasks concerned the management of all bureaucratic, technical, administrative and organizational aspects, both during the establishment phase and during the life of the cooperative.
From July 2001 until 2019, pursuing the aims of SOLIMAI, she was the founder and coordinator of  the help-line TAM (Telefono Anziani Maltrattati), whose purpose is to bring to surface the problem of elder abuse through the management of a telephone line for collection and management of cases of abuse.
Over the years her activity has focused on the themes of ageing, the prevention of abuses, the protection of the rights of older people and the development of national and international collaborations:

Research on demographic changes, on the phenomenon of ageism and on healthy aging;

Training of students and professionals and the awareness building of communities on abuse and its prevention;

Membership of national and international organizations (ie Age Platform Europe and UN-OEWG) involved in the definition of policies and guidelines relating to the ageing of the population, active ageing and dignity, the protection of the rights of the elderly;

Participation in EU projects of WeDO (Wellbeing and Dignity of the Older, which produced a framework for long-term care) and in the Covenant on Demographic Change. In the CARESS Project (An integRatEd framework for domiciliary healthcare SkillS development, a project aimed at students and professionals in the care sector in order to bridge the gap between the skills offered by the social-health system and the skills required by users) was involved as member of the control committee;

In 2014 she was included among the component of Task Force 11 (AGE- Platform Europe – Dignified Aging), whose action focuses on promoting quality in long-term care services and on the prevention of elder abuse;

In 2020 she obtained the record of achievement of the Healthy Aging for Impact in the 21st Century course by the World Health Organization.

Elisabet Cedersund is Professor Emerita in Ageing and Later Life at Linköping University, Sweden where she was one of the founders of the Institute for the Study of Ageing and Later Life, directing it from 2002 to 2004 as well as 2011 to 2016. She was also a Guest Professor in Social Work at Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden in 2020. Her research interests mostly concern encounters between citizens and professionals, and older people’s communication in everyday life. Elisabet has co-ordinated several research networks, and organized international workshops and conference sessions around social work research as well as ageing and later life. She has been a board member of OWN, Europe since 2018.

Her publications include articles, chapters, and books on communication in social welfare settings. The most recent include:
Reducing loneliness among older people – who is responsible? (with Agren, A. Ageing & Society, 2020)
Approaches to physical activity at assisted living facilities: from the perspective of older people and physiotherapists. (with Mahrs Träff, A et al in European Journal of Physiotherapy, 2018)
Old age as a market advantage: The example of staffing agencies in Sweden. (with Sundin, E et al in Ageing, Organisations and Management, 2017).

Laura Christ is treasurer on the board of Older Women Network Netherlands (OVN-NL), which is an active member of AGE Platform Europe. Since 2010 she has participated in AGE Platform EU Taskforces: Human Rights (age discrimination and equal opportunities), Employment, Active citizenship and Participation, Demographic Change/Age-Friendly Environments.

After several years studying history and French, then working in a psycho-geriatric hospital, Laura raised three children while studying for a Master’s degree in Social Gerontology at Vrije Universiteit (Amsterdam) where she started a second career as a scientific assistant.

In the early 1990s she became co-ordinator of the working group, Sociology-Social Gerontology at the Institute for Social Sciences, Amsterdam focusing on the social position of older people in welfare, healthcare and social services. Subsequently, the issues of ageism, age-discrimination, and gender equality in old age became guiding themes in her work as director of the National Age Discrimination Bureau, and remain so today.

For many years Laura has participated in networks, associations, boards and advisory bodies related to these issues. These encompassed the following projects and partnerships at the EU level:
–   MERI, Mapping research on the living situation of older women in Europe’ (Grundtvig, 2002-2004);
–Erasmus+ projects (with OVN-NL) ACT80+: Valuing and valorising the knowledge and skills of people 80+ (2014-2016), and Mobility Scouts: Engaging older people in creating an age-friendly environment (2016-2018).
–   Erasmus+ project (on behalf of Stichting Bij de Tijd) Invisible talents,encouraging and recognising the talents of people 80+ (2018-2020).

Andrea Ferenczi is founder President of the Association for Women’s Career Development in Hungary, an organization in Special Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council. Andrea has 30 years of experience in the fields of women’s empowerment and career development. She is an entrepreneur (founder of PRenergia Ltd. providing professional business consultancy, PR & HR as well as IT & web services). On behalf of the AWCDH she has organized over 45 international conferences and founded several awards including the “Women’s Career Lifetime Achievement Award” and “Best Workplace for Women Award”.

As demographic ageing is a major problem all over the world, and in Hungary the situation is equally serious, she started the “Women’s Career for a Lifetime” Project in 2009 to raise awareness of the need to support the participation of women over 55 in the labor market and of their role in the family as well.

Education on Ageing:

14 December 2020. Certificate (Record of Achievement) of Completion of the Healthy Ageing for Impact in the 21st Century Global Online Leaders Training.

26 September 2020. Certificate of Completion Családbarát Ország Nonprofit Közhasznú Kft of the Professional Senior Affairs Officer Adult training within the framework of the adult education professional program of the Családbarát Ország Nonprofit Közhasznú Kft (Family-Friendly Country Nonprofit Public Benefit Ltd.)

Participation in EU Projects:

Since May 2020 Member of the Management Committee of “SHAFE” Cost Action No.CA19136 delegated by the AWCDH, participant in the Action.

Within the framework of EU adult education programs, (Grundtvig and Erasmus+), she carried out research and training projects as project manager on behalf of AWCDH in partnership with the Italian Gerontology Institute, Venice University, University of Malta and adult education centers from Slovenia and Germany.

Participation in international organizations and networks:

Since 2016 National Representative of INPEA (International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse)

Since 2015 Member of the UN NGO Committee on Ageing, Geneva

Since 2010 Member of expert groups in AGE Platform Europe

Since 2008 Board member of the Older Women’s Network, Europe.

On the UN, UNECE, CSW and WHO level:

Regular participation in conferences, at many as invited speaker.

Some titles of her presentations: “Programs of the AWCDH dedicated to the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing”;  “Empowerment of Older Women By Lifelong Learning and Networking” ; “Older Women for Older Women”; “Women’s Career for a Lifetime”; “Supporting Older Women’s Empowerment”; “Rural Older Women’s Empowerment in Central and Eastern Europe”; “Older Women – The Unused Capital”; Cooperation of Generations, etc.

Renee Laiviera is the Commissioner of the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE) in Malta. She is also a member of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) of the Council of Europe, and Chair of the European Commission Advisory Committee on equal opportunities for women and men.

Her first management appointment in the Malta Public Service was as Director (Women’s Rights) in 1998, followed by other positions on government commissions and committees.

She participated in Malta’s accession process to the European Union with responsibilities in the field of gender equality. In addition, she participated in the drafting of legislation relating to family law, domestic violence, and employment. These were undertaken both in the context of CEDAW, European Directives, and the implementation of gender mainstreaming in the Malta Public Sector.

Up till May 2013, Renee was an Executive Member of the European Women’s Lobby and the Chair of the Malta Confederation of Women’s Organisations. Over the years, she lobbied for the ratification and implementation of the CEDAW in the field of family law, family planning, women’s right to work and support structures, violence against women, employment legislation, and women in decision-making positions.

In March 2007, the Embassy of the United States of America in Malta formally acknowledged her exceptional ‘courage and leadership in advocating for women’s rights and advancement in Malta’. And in 2019, the University of Malta conferred on her the Degree of Master of Letters (Honoris Causa).

Maria Teresa Marziali is responsible for the Adult Education Department of AUSER Marche. Previously she gained twenty years’ service in Perugia’s local government educating children, before specialising in adult education (autobiographical writing in particular).

From 1995 to 2005, she was co-ordinator of OWN, Europe followed by a period successfully initiating several European projects, some of which she coordinated, including:
–   Transitions: Self-narration and autobiography as empowerment tools for mature and older people changing direction in their lives
–   Silver Thread: Senior Volunteering.

Since 2010 to date she has been working for Auser, the Italian Association for Active Ageing, supporting cultural activities to be implemented by local groups in Le Marche region. The majority of participants were older women but few of them in leadership positions.  

During 2020 and currently, she coordinates education courses for older people to learn the use of smartphone and expand the use of its functions.  The pandemic we lived and are living urged Auser to help people, especially isolated people, older and alone, to learn how to stay connected, having a virtual social life and accessing services.   A Smartphone School has been created which is participated by older people, women in particular, who own a smartphone but have little or no skills to use it in its many functions. Teachers are Volunteers and the long distance School is now expanded in over twenty villages or cities of Le Marche 

Her published books and booklets include:
– Together towards the future: Local community analysis at the Municipality of Perugia’s V District
– Generazioni in Umbria (si) narrano, Comune di Perugia
– Generazioni nelle Marche (si) narrano, AUSER Marche, Regione Marche.

Isabella Paoletti  – a contributor to the creation of the OWN, Europe – is currently managing director of the Social Research and Intervention Center, NGO in Perugia, Italy. Her research interests over thirty years have been informed by discourse analysis and ethnomethodology. This research, together with experience initiating and administering intervention projects, resulted in extensive publications, presentations at international conferences, organization of conferences and international panels on gender, aging and care-giving. While at the CLUNL, Universitade Nova de Lisboa in Portugal between 2009 and 2014, Isabella undertook the project Ageing, poverty and social exclusion: An inter-disciplinary study on innovative support services. https://apseclunl.wordpress.com/.

Her recent publications include:
– Being an older women. A study on the social production of identity. Routledge, London; 2020 (reprint)
–  (with Kydds, A, Fleming, A and Hvalič Touzery, S). Exploring terms used for the oldest old in the gerontological literature. Journal of Aging and Social Change, 10(2),53-73 (2020)–  (with Cedersund, E). Introduction to the special issue Processing the case: Storytelling and moral work in professional discursive practices. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice;10-3, 221-235 (2017)–   Dignity and forth age. in Sieh, E and McGregor, J (Eds) Human dignity.London: Palgrave MacMillan (2017).

Anne-Sophie Parent, former chair

Anne-Sophie Parent was Chair of OWN, Europe from April 2022 to December 2025, taking over from Joke de Ruiter-Zwanikken. Previous to that, from Sept. 2002 to June 2020 Anne-Sophie was Secretary General of AGE Platform Europe (AGE), a self-advocacy network of some 100 organisations representing some 40 million seniors across Europe in 27 EU Member States, Norway and Switzerland. She retired in July 2020 and joined the Older Women’s Network, Europe where she continues to advocate for equality in old age for both women and men as an expert in some AGE Task Forces. Anne-Sophie is particularly keen to continue promoting gender equality in pension systems and to combat age discrimination in financial services. She was involved in the Financial Services Users’ Group (FSUG) set up by the European Commission until 2021. She represented AGE in the Euro Retail Payment Board to voice older persons’ concerns since this group was established by the European Central Bank in 2014 until she resigned from that position in January 2025.  Anne-Sophie was also Secretary General of the European Covenant on Demographic Change from 2016 to 2023 (volunteer position). Thanks to EU funding this large network managed to bring together some 160 subnational public authorities, non-for-profit and profit actors who wished to join forces to promote age-friendly environments in Europe and combat ageism.

Bridget Penhale is currently Reader Emerita in Mental Health of Older People at the University of East Anglia (UEA), UK and also acts as an independent consultant in safeguarding, abuse and social care. With a first degree in psychology, she has been qualified as a social worker since 1981. She has a keen interest in adult safeguarding and a specialism interest in social gerontology, having specialised in clinical work with older people since 1983 and academically since taking up her first academic position in 1989. After a successful career as a social worker and manager spanning some 15 years, she took up her first full-time academic post in 1996 and held positions in both Social Work and Health Sciences.

She is recognised nationally in the UK for her work on adult safeguarding/protection and internationally for her work on elder abuse. In 2010 she received the International Rosalie Wolf Award for her work in the field of elder abuse research and practice.

Bridget has published material on decision-making and mentally incapacitated adults, social work and older people and extensively on elder abuse. Her research interests include elder abuse adult protection/safeguarding and domestic violence (including violence against older women) as well as wider interests in older women, care of older people and mental health problems relating to older people. She also has particular interests in ethical issues, including the ethics of care and the human rights of older persons and the current pressing need for an convention applicable at international level.

Ermira Pirdeni is the founder and executive director of ASAG. A trained public health expert on Health and Environment and specialised in Occupational Health, Ermira has been active in the promotion of women and older people’s rights for several decades both in her country and internationally.

In 1991 Ermira founded the Democratic League of Albanian Women (the first independent women movement in Albania following the advent of democracy) and remained in its Board until 1995.  From 1995 to 1999 she was the Secretary General of the Albanian Women Federation. In 1999 Elmira founded ASAG – the Albanian Society for All Ages and is still  ASAG Executive Director.

In 2011, she published a Study and evaluation of the legal framework on older persons in Albania.

In 2015, she was nominated IWPG Peace Ambassador by the International Women’s Peace Group.

In 2017, she received the Exceptional Civic Duty Award issued by the President of the Republic of Albania for the work she has done for women’s and older persons’ rights in Albania.  

On behalf of ASAG Ermira contributes various articles and reports nationally and internationally among organizations such as UN Focal Point on Ageing, AGE Platform Europe, International Federation on Ageing (IFA), EURAG, INPEA, Helpage International, GAROP, etc.

Elizabeth Sclater / former Secretary General of OWN Europe (May 2007 – November 2023)

On 1st December 2024, Elizabeth passed away, leaving behind many friends she had made around the world during her busy life. Elizabeth served in local government for 40 years as a social worker, manager, and equalities and human rights policy officer. During this time, she successfully managed several EU-funded projects linking older women across the European Union and beyond, setting up OWN Europe in 1993, and participating at the 4^th World Conference of Women in Beijing in 1995.

When she retired in 2007, she maintained her commitment to older women’s issues and continued campaigning for the rights of older people – particularly older women – at local, national, and international level. She was the principal author of the CEDAW shadow report on Older Women for the UK examination in 2013. She represented OWN, Europe on AGE Platform Europe task forces and Council, and on the Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People. She was an active contributor to the NGO Committees on Ageing in Geneva and New York for many years, advocating for a legally binding United Nations instrument to protect the rights of older people ensuring a gender perspective. In June 2019, in the Queen’s Birthday Honours Elizabeth was appointed an OBE in recognition of services to older women.

Elisabeth was such a wonderful role model for us, and so committed to our issues and the need to continue to develop out civil/civic participation. We will miss her enthusiasm and determination – but know that she will remain within all of us, particularly in these unsettled times. We will never forget her genuine dedication to gender equality and combating ageism, her friendly manners and all the support she provided to our network since its inception. We miss her very much!