SurveyMETER continues to strive to promote the importance of creating elderly-friendly communities and cities. The following efforts are being contrived to encourage the government to recommend the 21 main indicators of WHO to develop an elderly-friendly community. All of them are the results based on the 2013 Elderly-Friendly City Assessment.

The twenty-one indicators are the Dimensions of the Building and Open Space (1] Special customer service for the elderly is available, such as a separate queue area and a special place for the elderly; 2] Green open space with and adequate number of seats are available, well maintained and safe; 3] Traffic regulations are obeyed with motorists prioritizing pedestrians; 4] Clean, well-maintained public toilets are easily accessible to people with disabilities, well-designed to meet the needs of the elderly and placed in easily accessible locations). Dimensions of Transportation (5] Public transportation is not overcrowded and prioritized seating is available for the elderly; 6] Affordable taxis with discounts or subsidized rates for low-income elderly; 7] Parking lots and areas to drop off passengers for the elderly and disabled are available).

Housing Dimension 8] The house is adapted for the elderly, the platform is flat, the entrance is wide for wheelchairs, and the bathrooms, toilets, and kitchens are designed to suit the elderly; 9] Options and equipment for home modifications are available and affordable with developers who can understand the needs of the elderly). Dimensions of Social Participation (10] Various types of activities are offered to attract the interest of various groups of the elderly; 11] Meetings, including with the elderly, take place in several locations within the community such as recreation centers, libraries, community centers in disadvantaged areas, parks and gardens). Dimensions of Respect and Social Inclusion (12] The elderly are included in the media (newspapers/tv/radio) and are portrayed positively without certain stereotypes (e.g. sickly, stingy, being a burden, too slow, senile, etc.); 13] Schools provide opportunities to learn about the elderly and involve them in school activities).

Dimensions of Civil and Employment Participation (14] Various kinds of job opportunities for the elderly who are flexible and have good income are available; 15] The opportunity for post-retirement training is provided to the elderly). Dimensions of Communication and Information (16] Information and special shows for the elderly are available regularly; 17] Verbal communication media that can be accessed by the elderly are available). Dimensions of Community and Health Services (18] Home services including health services, personal and household services are available for the elderly; 19] Volunteers of all ages are encouraged and supported to assist the elderly; 20] Emergency planning takes into account the capacities/disability of the elderly; 21] Adequate health services and community support for the promotion, maintenance, and restoration of the health of the elderly).

Having disseminated the study results in 2013, several cities welcomed the recommendations submitted with concrete steps. Denpasar city uses it as a reference in formulating policy commitments to integrate child-friendly, elderly-friendly, and green open spaces healthy cities that set on September 13, 2014. In Jakarta, it became reference data for the declaration of Jakarta as a dementia-friendly and elderly-friendly city on September 11, 2015. The city of Balikpapan welcomed it by preparing a regional action plan (RAD) towards an elderly-friendly city in 2030 that was set in September 2014. Regional Regulation Number 2 of 2015 concerning Provision of Elderly Welfare in May 2015, and the declaration of “Balikpapan Towards an Elderly Friendly City” on June 16, 2015.

However, many things need to improve to achieve excellent results so people commit to being happy and prosperous in conjunction with being active and productive in old age. To assist the policymakers' performance regarding the development of an elderly-friendly city, SurveyMETER recommends the 21 main indicators of the 8 dimensions from WHO to immediately realize the elderly-friendly city in 2030.

One city that has been visited to socialize the 21 steps is Denpasar. SurveyMETER held a formal hearing with the Denpasar city government on Tuesday, December 13, 2016. It was conducted by the Executive Director of SurveyMETER, Dr. Ni Wayan Suriastini M.Phil, and accepted by the Deputy Mayor of Denpasar, IGN Jaya Negara, along with representatives of the relevant offices.

According to Suriastini, based on the observations of the SurveyMETER research team, Denpasar already has several infrastructures and programs to realize the welfare of the elderly. These include building green open spaces equipped with facilities for the elderly and a complete posyandu that provides services for the elderly.

"The mayor has also thought efficiently and dared to innovate in integrating elderly-friendly city initiatives with the previous ones that already carried out: a child-friendly city with green open spaces in healthy cities so Denpasar becomes a friendly city for all age groups, but to get to an elderly-friendly city, you must apply the 21 steps above, "said Suriastini.

IGN Jaya Negara welcomes the hearing since the results of the recommendations are submitted and become a reference for related government work units to plan programs that are not yet held. He emphasized that the Denpasar city government would continue to strive to realize the goal-setting in creating an elderly-friendly city considering the high elderly population. One effort was to change the mindset of today's society which believed the elderly to simply surrender and just wait for death time. The city government was also trying to restore the elderly-community spirit that they were useful and had the right to enjoy life by interacting socially.

"We expect in the future SurveyMETER will invite related government work units to participate in activities or research related to elderly problems to broaden their horizons," said Jaya Negara.

On the occasion of the hearing, SurveyMETER also presented the study results of the Denpasar Episode: "Towards an Elderly-Friendly City 2015". It describes the journey of the Denpasar city government to invest the study results as a policy reference in the commitment to the integration of child-friendly, elderly-friendly, and green open spaces in healthy cities. The research benefits of the program are expected to be a catalyst for other city governments to commit to realizing an elderly-friendly city in their cities. (SL/JF)

News of the formal hearings in Denpasar can be seen at:

http://www.kabarnusa.com/2016/12/inilah-21-step-denpasar-menuju-kota.html

http://kabar24.bisnis.com/read/20161215/78/612143/21-step-for-status-elder-friendly-city