ProtoPolicyAsia: empowering local communities and Government in Malaysia in addressing social issues in ageing and disabilities

到2030年，马来西亚将被列为老龄化国家（其总人口的15.3%将超过60岁），目前在东南亚国家联盟（东盟）中排名第四。马来西亚制定了满足老年人需求的国家政策，但在政策和实践之间存在一些障碍。因此，由于资源有限，而且老年人本身的投入很少或根本没有投入，过去对这些政策的改进一直很缓慢。此外，马来西亚很少参与制定与残疾有关的方案，从而忽视了残疾人日益增长的需求。显然，随着这些群体面临的挑战越来越多，越来越需要在决策中采取包容性办法，以确保马来西亚老年人和残疾人能够保持积极、有成效和独立的生活。包容性是第十一个马来西亚计划的关键战略目标之一，ProtoPolicyAsia在该计划中提出的工作目标是通过与社区和政府机构合作来实现。考虑到这一点，ProtoPolicyAsia的主要目标是增加当地社区参与马来西亚国家决策进程，与相关政府机构就涉及老年人和残疾人的社会问题开展合作。这符合马来西亚政府的目标，即促进以社区为基础的护理，并解决这些弱势群体的政策与实践之间的差距。该项目涉及马来西亚妇女、家庭和社区发展部、Petrosains -位于吉隆坡的科学探索中心、兰开斯特大学、马来西亚双威大学和联合国大学-马来西亚国际全球卫生研究所。利用推测性设计作为处理问题和创造解决方案的一种方式;（2）通过发展技能和知识，使当地社区能够团结起来，支持以社区为基础的护理和就地养老;（3）评估改革的影响，以确保计划和方案能满足人民的需要，并能长期持续下去，以及（4）在主要群体之间建立可持续的伙伴关系（政府机构、非政府组织、社区团体）继续解决老年人和残疾人面临的社会问题。所有活动都以联合国教科文组织可持续发展目标16（包容性社会）和3（健康与福祉）为重点，并将有助于支持马来西亚成为一个先进的经济体和包容性国家。

Malaysia will be classified as an ageing nation (15.3% of its total population will be over 60 years old) by 2030 and is currently placed 4th in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in terms of age-related issues. Malaysia has national policies to meet the needs of older people, but there are some barriers between policy and practice. As a result, making improvements to these policies has been slow in the past due to limited resources, and with little or no input from older people themselves. Also, there is limited involvement in the development of disability-related programmes in Malaysia, thus ignoring the growing needs of disabled people. It is clear that with the increasing challenges faced by these groups, there is a growing need to create an inclusive approach to policy-making to ensure that Malaysian older persons and persons with disabilities are able to maintain active, productive and independent living. Inclusivity is one of the key strategic thrusts in the Eleventh Malaysia Plan, in which ProtoPolicyAsia proposed work would aim to achieve by working together with communities and government agencies. With this in mind, ProtoPolicyAsia main aim is to increase local community participation in the Malaysian national policy-making process to work together with relevant government agencies on social issues that relate to older persons and persons with disabilities. This is in line with the Malaysian government's goal to promote community-based care and address the gap between policy and practice for these vulnerable groups. The project involves the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development Malaysia, Petrosains - The Science Discovery Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Lancaster University, Sunway University in Malaysia and United Nations University - International Institute for Global Health in Malaysia.Specifically, the project aims to (1) Support Malaysian government agencies to develop community-based engagement methods, using speculative design as a way to dealing with problems and creating solutions; (2) empower local communities by developing skills and knowledge for them to come together to support community-based care and ageing-in-place; (3) assess the impact of the change to ensure that the plans and programmes meet people's needs and are long-lasting in to the future, and (4) develop sustainable partnerships between key groups (government agencies, Non-Government Organisations, community-based groups) to carry on tackling the social issues faced by older persons and persons with disabilities. All activities focus on UNESCO Sustainable Development Goals 16 (Inclusive Societies) and 3 (Health & Wellbeing) and will help support Malaysia in its drive to become an advanced economy and inclusive nation.