Population ageing will continue to shape the global transformations during the 21st century. The accumulated knowledge on ageing has therefore gained in its scope and importance, but related challenges for social policies remain underestimated and even neglected.
Kai Leichsenring and Alexandre Sidorenko have edited a book that takes stock of salient issues with a wide range of inter-disciplinary experts. Based on contributions from gerontology, economy, political sciences, sociology and other social sciences they propose a future-oriented research agenda designed to inform and stimulate social policy responses to ageing and longevity. The aim has been to bridge the gap between the often-isolated processes of inter-disciplinary research on the one hand and policymaking on the other. A dialogue between all stakeholders of action on ageing at national and international levels needs to involve researchers, policymakers as well as representatives of civil society and social partners. Initiatives by United Nations agencies have gone a long way in this direction since the first World Assembly on Ageing held in Vienna, Austria, in 1982. These endeavours have even intensified over the past few years, but both national and global action are still suffering from a lack of resources and really joint action.
“A Research Agenda for Ageing and Social Policy” gathers some of the most experienced experts in gerontology, social policy, economy, psychology, international law and public health addressing a wide variety of topics to guide researchers and policymakers in finding solutions for social risks over the life-course of current and future generations. The framework of the proposed agenda starts from the necessity to create opportunities for more equal chances in a life-course perspective. The challenges of increasing longevity call for new institutional settings to provide social cohesion and social security for the diverse transitions from education to work, care work or further (re-)training, from leisure to education, and vice versa from training or care to work, and from work to leisure, independent from the individuals’ chronological age.
This international seminar served to launch the book to a wider audience to discuss with selected authors, how these transitions can be shaped and facilitated by social policy interventions to ensure more equal chances for all, less ageism and better adaptation to technological change – from active and healthy ageing, digitalized labour markets and long-term care to intergenerational community-building, innovative services and new types of benefit systems.
Additional International Seminars will follow over the next few months to offer the possibility to discuss salient issues with all authors of the book. Please subscribe to our event notification list for further information.
