Elderly Empowerment and Care center, Ehsan, with the cooperation of Qatari Forum for Authors organized a new session among “Post sixty sessions” titled “A New Life”. During the session, Ehsan center hosted author Abdelaziz Elsheikh and writer, psychiatric and academic adviser Dr. Amina Al-Hail. The session, which was moderated by the Director of Programs of the Forum, Mr. Saleh Ghraib, was broadcast on social media and YouTube. It discussed ways to prepare for retirement and life after60 and how to take advantage of accumulated years of experience to continue being productive and contribute in various fields. Mr. Ghraib said that retirement does not mean the end of a person's contribution in life, but could be a starting point for productivity and creativity in several areas, including writing. He said that he invested his leisure time after retiring to spend longer time with his family and grandchildren. Dr. Al-Hail emphasized the importance of preparing for life after 60 during youth, through healthy nutrition, paying attention to one’s health, and exercising, in addition to psychological and social preparation. She added that we must also pay attention to the living conditions when building a house. It must be designed from the first stage of its construction to be suitable and comfortable for the elderly. She noted the high awareness of the needs of elderly in the Qatari society, where modern technology is used to facilitate the life of the elderly person within his home. She stressed the need for preparation and psychological rehabilitation for retired employees in the government sector and suggested a range of activities that could be undertaken by a retiree, such as writing, drawing or setting up an investment project. She added that the post-60 period is a period of stability after a person makes a large family. The children get married and the person is surrounded by the family. This is one of the advantages of Muslim Arab societies that continue to maintain family cohesion and unity, dictated by the teachings of Islam, which respects the elderly and encourage parents’ obedience and honouring. She said that these teachings are implanted in our children since they are very young and during all the educational stages. She called for the launching of programs and plans adapted to affiliates of Ehsan Center, in accordance with today’s modern life, where elderly are highly cultured, knowledgeable, and familiar with modern technology. She said that we must motivate them to continue being active and to pass their experiences to new generations. She noted the need to integrate older persons in all spheres of life and invest their experiences as long as they are able to contribute. She compared the situation of an older person in the past to our current times, saying that in the past there wasn’t much attention to the health of the elderly, while there is now greater attention to health, nutrition and sport, from both the State and individuals, as the State gives great importance to older persons. She added that retirement is an opportunity for others and for young people graduating from major universities to work and to contribute in serving their homeland with new ideas and creativity which respond to today's requirements. For his part, Mr. Abdelaziz ElSheikh confirmed that major changes occurred in the situation of the elderly within the family and that changes in the design of the house and majlis to be more suitable for the elderly took place. He said that age is just a number and life is like a train that stops at different stations, and a person must adapt to changes in his body, whether they are health related or psychological changes. He called for positivity and optimism, moving away from over thinking, especially in things that do not directly affect our lives, to be able to enjoy life and beautiful moments with family and friends, accepting all stops and ages. He added that we should accept retirement and invest our free time in achieving our ambitions and postponed projects, practicing our hobbies and keeping in touch with our relatives. He called for the recognition of the efforts of previous generations in laying the foundations of the state and ensuring a decent livelihood for present generations, despite the difficult conditions they endured like hard work and hot weather, as they put the basis of the country's renaissance. They are also to be thanked for the success of this generation; as they passed to them their knowledge, guided and taught them. He confirmed that the current generation has great responsibility to protect the legacy and to pass the torch to the new generation, noting that Qatari society is a young society led by a young emir. Mr. Khaled Abdullah, Acting Executive Director of the Center, said that the events and seminars make the Center's employees closer to society and more understanding of the needs of the elderly. He announced the center's intention to hold specialized seminars in the future with the participation of specialized experts in each category. He confirmed that the center called for forming an association of older persons in order to hold more suitable programs and activities for them. Maryam Yassin Al-Hammadi, Director of Culture and Arts Department at the Ministry of Culture and Director General of Qatar Forum for Authors, praised the distinctive initiatives of Ehsan Center, confirming that a person after sixty is a person capable of contributing in all fields and not only the cultural field. She added that the above-60 initiative reviewed models of writers and intellectuals who continued to work after retirement and she called for spreading the initiative to cover different sectors and highlight the contributions of older persons and retirees in all sectors of the country, because they represent a role model for young people. She noted that retirement is an opportunity to focus more on writing, giving examples of some Qatari writers who doubled their literary and intellectual productions after retirement.