Ageing Well: Good ageing and diversity of lifestyles – Bochum

o In the subsequent thematic block, the focus will be on the participation opportunities of certain target groups. In his impulse lecture, Eike Ricker from Rosa Strippe e.V. presents the historical background of today's LGBTQ+ seniors. LGBTQ+ people who are of age today have experienced a variety of injustices and strokes of fate. One particularly defining milestone is Section 175 of the German Penal Code, which criminalized sexual acts between persons of the male sex from 1872 to 1994. The original variant of the paragraph from the Weimar Republic was tightened under the National Socialists and adopted in this form in the legislation of postwar Germany. Many homosexual men who were affected by the convictions and social ostracism of this period did not live to see the sentences lifted and compensation paid by the German government in 2017. Also, very formative for this generation is the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and -90s, which left severe cuts in LGBTQ+ social networks. Today, LGBTQ+ can benefit from the social progress they have fought for ("Marriage for All," forced sterilization of trans people no longer permitted), but their biographies are often marked by sham existences, victimization experiences, and strained interpersonal relationships. Safe spaces, therefore, cannot be underestimated for LGBTQ* elders in particular - even or especially in long-term care. Meeting places for the elderly and nursing homes therefore need culturally sensitive care training, certification, and a sensitive approach.

o Dr. Katrin Bente Karl from the Ruhr-Universität Bochum addresses in her lecture the linguistic participation in old age against the background of migration and multilingualism. She focuses on the question of how well multilingual people can participate in our (monolingual) country. Studies show that multilingualism can keep people cognitively fit longer in old age. However, multilingual people are not a homogeneous group. Nevertheless, offers for people in old age must strive to enable people to participate in their multilingual, multicultural life as long as possible. Therefore, a strategy is needed to develop programs that consciously consider both languages and cultures of the people or programs that introduce people to a new language. Language or multilingualism can then be used as a resource – and not only for the elderly, but for society.

o Dr. Katrin Bente Karl moderates the ensuing discussion, which focuses primarily on the practical implementation of such offerings. Senior citizen offices try to make offers for multilingual people, but reaching these individuals is very difficult. The participants discuss how the actual needs of these people can be determined. It is important not only to look at mosque communities, but also not to forget individuals who do not define themselves by groups. The respective neighborhood is important. Here, it is essential to see which structures and networks are already in place and how they can be used for one's own work. In order to be able to approach people as social workers whose language one does not speak oneself, various pilot projects are presented in which so-called "health mentors" are trained to inform or invite people to certain topics. It is particularly important here to make such projects sustainable.

o Main findings:

• Today, LGBTQ+ can benefit from the social progress they have fought for, but their biographies are often marked by sham existences, victimization experiences, and strained interpersonal relationships. Safe spaces, therefore, cannot be underestimated for LGBTQ* elders in particular.
• Multilingualism can keep people cognitively fit longer in old age so offers for people in old age must strive to enable people to participate in their multilingual, multicultural life as long as possible