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comparativeanalysisofEastGermanandWestGermanmunicipalitiesprovidesanex-
ceptionalopportunityforcomparingpolicyresponsestopopulationageinginCEEwith
WesternEurope,makinguseoftheuniquesituationofGermany,whichinmanyrespects
stillcomprisesoftwoverydifferentsocietieswithinitsnationalborders.Surprisingly,
notalllocalpoliticiansregarddemographicchangeasaproblemforpublicfinances
someseepopulationageingasanopportunityandstarteddevelopingpublicservices
specificallytargetingolderpeople.
Next,JerzyKrzyszkowskireportstheincreasingdecentralisationofpublicservices
inthePolishcaresectorusingtheexampleofhomecareservices.Hearguesthatthe
Polishwelfarestatehaslargelywithdrawnfromprovidingpublicservices,resultingin
theemergenceofamixofcommercialandvoluntarysectorcareproviderscomplement-
ingthecareprovidedbyalreadyoverstretchedfamilycarers.
WiththequestionofhowtomanageanageingworkforceBogusławaUrbaniakad-
dressesakeyissueofEuropeandebateontheimpactofdemographicchangeonfuture
economicgrowthandthewellbeingofEuropeancitizens.Agemanagementisanin-
creasinglyrecognisedtoolofhumanresourcemanagementusedtopromoteolderwork-
ers’labourmarketparticipation.BogusławaUrbaniakidentifiesanumberofsuccessful
‘bestpractice’examplesinPolandcontributingtoasustainableemploymentofolder
workers.
Chapter11byPiotrObidzińskidiscusseschangestothePolishsocialsecuritysystem
inresponsetodemographicageingusingtheexampleoftheDemographicReserveFund
thatwasintroducedtoincreasethesolvencyofthepublicpensionsystem.
ThesocialpolicydebateinthisbookisconcludedwithachapterbyKsenijaRamovš,
JožeRamovšandSimonaHvalicTouzerywhopresentanaccountofthecontributionof
intergenerationalprogrammesandotherNGOsectorprojectstoolderpeople’squalityof
lifeusingtheexampleoftheAntonTrstenjakInstituteinLjubljana,Slovenia.
Finally,wewouldliketoexpressourgratitudetothosewhocontributedtothesuc-
cessofthe"AgeingandSociety”sessionatthe13thPolishSociologicalCongressin
ZielonaGóra.WewouldliketothankthelocalconferenceorganisersattheUniversity
ofZielonaGórawhomadeeveryefforttoaccommodatethespecificneedsofaninterna-
tionalgroupofacademicsatanotherwiselargelyall-Polishevent.Thissessionwasvery
special,notonlybecauseitattractedanumberofinternationalguests,butmainlybe-
causeitwasthefirstsessiononthe‘sociologyofageing’everorganisedataPolish
SociologyCongress.Thus,thePolishSociologicalAssociationacknowledgedthegrow-
ingimportanceofthissociologicalsub-disciplineinPoland,therebyprovidingaunique
opportunityforestablishinganall-Polishnetworkoftheseresearchersandlinkingitwith
theinternationalresearchcommunity.WecontinuetobegratefultothePolishSociological
Associationforalltheirsupporttowardsthisend.
Lastbutnotleast,wewouldliketothankallpeoplewhomadethepublicationofthis
bookpossible.Weareextremelygratefulfortheswiftandflexibleassistancebytheedi-
torialteamattheJagiellonianUniversityPress.Furthermore,wewouldliketoexpress
ourgratitudeforthegenerousfinancialsupportwereceivedfromtheInstituteof
Sociology,JagiellonianUniversityCracowandthePolishSociologicalAssociation.We
wouldalsoliketothankourcolleagueswhocontributedtheirtimeandenthusiasmtothe