The UN Global report on ageism is available in Chinese, English, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish.

The report’s executive summary is available in Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

Some of the Global Campaign’s other resources have also been translated, but not all. Explore the Global Campaign’s toolkit to see whether what you need is available in the language you need.

Yes! WHO supports open access to the published output of its activities as a fundamental part of its mission and a public benefit to be encouraged whenever possible. We explain how in the next question.

All of the Global Campaign’s resources are published under the terms of the CC BY SA 3.0 IGO licence. In practice, this means you can translate our publications for non-commercial purposes, provided the translation is properly cited.

However, we highly recommend you complete WHO’s Permissions request form first before proceeding. This ensures you receive proper guidance, minimises duplication, and allows us to include your translation on our website and international repository, reaching a broader audience.

Filling out WHO’s Permissions form is essential if you want to translate into one of the official languages of the United Nations, which are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.

Ageism is not a term which is used universally. It does not directly translate into a number of languages. For many English speakers it is also an unfamiliar term.

The thing to consider when you are translating ‘ageism’ is to try to make sure you are covering the three main components of ageism.

• Stereotypes – what we think about age and ageing

• Prejudice – how we feel about and ageing

• Discrimination – how we act about age and ageing

We all age in a context, so our cultural norms will inform the stereotypes, prejudices and discriminatory actions that might be around us in relation to age. For instance, in some cultures there may be certain stereotypes and assumptions associated with younger people and older people which are different in other cultures. In some cultures, it is impolite to ask someone their age, or to talk about getting older. In other cultures, one’s age is a mark of pride.

The best thing to do is to give examples of what ageism looks like in your context. By providing examples and highlighting prevailing social norms you can start to build awareness of what ageism looks like in your language and cultural context and the impacts it has.

For more guidance, explore our Quick guide to avoid ageism in communication.

This will vary in different contexts. Our Quick guide to avoid ageism in communication will give you some helpful advice. Here are a few tips:

Be aware of terms that ‘de-humanise’

It is always a good idea to refer to a person, rather than a category. For example, ‘an older person’, ‘older people’, rather than ‘the aged’, or ‘the elderly’, or ‘pensioners’. This is also true when referring to a condition that the person may be living with. Instead of referring to someone as ‘demented’, or ‘senile’ use ‘a person living with dementia’.

Be aware of terms that overgeneralise and suggest ‘sameness’

Be aware of terms that group all older people or younger people together as one homogeneous group, simply because they are of a certain age. For instance, in English ‘the elderly’ is often used as a single label, but it fails to recognise there is as much diversity among older people as there is any other age group. ‘The youth’ is also a very broad category and it may be better to describe age ranges.

Be aware of terms that ‘other’

Be aware of terms that ‘other’ people of different ages. This can increase the sense of division between groups of people, which can lead to inequality, and exclusion.

Where possible, avoid using pronouns like ‘they’ and ‘them’, which can portray older and younger people as being a separate group and not part of our society. Instead, try to use more inclusive language and find ways to replace ‘they’ or ‘them’ with words like ‘we’ or ‘us’. For example, instead of saying ‘What older/younger people need’, say ‘What we need when we’re older/younger’.

In summary, always be respectful and avoid words that stigmatise or patronise. If you can check in with people about the terms they prefer to use, do so.

Be aware of the ‘problem’ frame

Avoid presenting older or younger people as a ‘problem’. Terms and phrases like ‘silver tsunami’ or ‘Gen Z’s have a short attention span’ can divide and harm.

Use neutral terms that that allow a balanced presentation of opportunities and challenges.

Avoid ‘labels’

Stereotyping of older and younger people is not new. But what is newer is the use of generational categories. In English, these include terms like Baby Boomer and Generation X/Y/Z. You may have similar generational categories in your language.

These labels stay with age cohorts throughout their lives, unlike traditional labels (older, younger, teen) that represent the life stages through which people progress. They convey the idea that a person will always remain a ‘Boomer’ or ‘Millennial’, and that all members of that group are identical and share particular values, aspirations and attitudes.

Such labels can promote stereotypes and constrain our thinking by setting up false expectations. They are best avoided. Using life stages (like children, teenagers, young people, older people) may be a clearer way to communicate.

Given the issues and sensitivities around the topic, we suggest that you test and refine your translation. You might find it helpful to work as a group to co-create the translation.

Once you have your first draft, test it with a range of people to see if it works in your language. You might like to have your translation revised by a qualified translator, a community review panel or a proof-reader.

Once you have translated/adapted your resource, please share it with us at pubrights@who.int and hello@aworld4allages.org so we can share it with others who can use it!