The conference aimed to facilitate the exchange of technical knowledge, explore innovative approaches to social health, and present successful models of community-level interventions. Senior representatives from UNFPA, the United Nations, and the World Health Organization (WHO) attended the event.
Key Speakers and Highlights:
- Ms. Misa Al-Gharbawi (Acting UN Resident Coordinator in Iran): Highlighted the “Salam” initiative as a key factor in strengthening social resilience and social support. She emphasized the need for strong neighborhood-based participation for sustainable development, integrating diverse perspectives in decision-making, and sharing experiences among countries, including China’s Time Bank, as well as successful models from Japan and Singapore.
- Ms. Keita Ohashi (UNFPA Representative in Iran): Congratulated the Iranian government on the “Salam Mahalleh” (Healthy Neighborhood) initiative. She drew attention to Iran’s demographic changes (population approximately 93 million, with 70% in working age and a growing elderly population), the necessity of building a resilient society with intergenerational dialogue, the development of comprehensive training packages for elderly care, and enhancing social resilience through innovative methods such as Time Banking.
- Dr. John Jabbour (WHO Representative in Iran): Praised the long-standing record of Iran’s Welfare Organization in promoting social welfare and rehabilitation. He noted WHO’s support for integrated, person-centered elderly care, strengthening long-term care continuity, and social participation. He also referenced Japan’s community-based models, such as “Kumikan.”
- Rinataro Mori (Mayor of Takarazuka, Japan): Shared practical experiences including community centers, local development councils, free social halls, local welfare commissions (with 109 years of activity), volunteer engagement, mutual neighborhood care, community cleanup, gardening, group activities for seniors, and training of facilitators.
- Paul Ong (Singapore): Reported a 39% reduction in social isolation among the elderly over 10 years. He stressed easy access to family doctors (within a 5-minute distance), home-based exercises, rehabilitation programs, and social activities to promote active aging.
- Kevin Tran (Vietnam): Discussed nationwide networks of intergenerational clubs and elderly associations (with over 14 million members), project-based approaches focusing on health and livelihood, noting that 16.5% of Vietnam’s population is elderly.
- Other Speakers: Abhijit Visaria (UNFPA) spoke on the strategic vision for community-based approaches to healthy aging, resilience, and social inclusion. Chen Gong (China) presented the Time Bank as a powerful tool for sustainable participation and community empowerment.
Iran’s “Salam” Initiative
Syed Javad Hosseini, Head of the State Welfare Organization, explained that the “Salam” (Community-Based Social Health) program seeks to shift the social governance paradigm from a government-centered to a community-centered model. The initiative is currently being implemented across 2,750 neighborhood-based centers nationwide.
Hosseini outlined the 10 executive steps of the program, which include systematic engagement with neighborhoods, identifying local capacities, establishing “Salam” hubs, utilizing trained facilitators, a large-scale volunteer campaign (attracting 370,000 participants), and leveraging 11,000 existing community-based groups involving more than 120,000 volunteers.
He identified the key success factors of the Salam initiative as: the central role of people, the neighborhood as the fundamental unit of social development, extensive community involvement, inter-sectoral networking, trust-building, and early social intervention and prevention.
The conference concluded with a question-and-answer session.
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