“Educational programmes featuring the elderly as the teachers and transmitters of knowledge, culture and spiritual values should be developed”. 39. In article 15, paragraphs 1 (a) and (b), of the Covenant, States parties recognize the right of everyone to take part in cultural life and to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications. In this respect, the Committee urges States parties to take account of the recommendations contained in the United Nations Principles for Older Persons, and in particular of principle 7: “Older persons should remain integrated in society, participate actively in the formulation and implementation of policies that directly affect their well-being and share their knowledge and skills with younger generations”; and principle 16: “Older persons should have access to the educational, cultural, spiritual and recreational resources of society”. 40. Similarly, recommendation n 48 of the Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing encourages Governments and international organizations to support programmes aimed at providing the elderly with easier physical access to cultural institutions (museums, theatres, concert halls, cinemas, etc.). 41. Recommendation 50 stresses the need for Governments, non-governmental organizations and the ageing themselves to make efforts to overcome negative stereotyped images of older persons as suffering from physical and psychological disabilities, incapable of functioning independently and having neither role nor status in society. These efforts, in which the media and educational institutions should also take part, are essential for achieving a society that champions the full integration of the elderly. 42. With regard to the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications, States parties should take account of recommendations 60, 61 and 62 of the Vienna International Plan of Action and make efforts to promote research on the biological, mental and social aspects of ageing and ways of maintaining functional capacities and preventing and delaying the start of chronic illnesses and disabilities. In this connection, it is recommended that States, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations should establish institutions specializing in the teaching of gerontology, geriatrics and geriatric psychology in countries where such institutions do not exist. General bibliography Albouy, François-Xavier y Kessler, Denis. Un système de retraite européen: une utopie réalisable? Revue Française des Affaires Sociales, No. hors-série, noviembre de 1989. Aranguren, José Luis. La vejez como autorrealizacion personal y social. Ministerio Asuntos Sociales. Madrid, 1992. Beauvoir, Simone de: La vieillesse. Gallimard 1970 (Edhasa, 1983).