In our series of international seminars discussing ‘A Research Agenda for Ageing and Social Policy‘ this online event highlighted two key issues of ageing and social policy - combating ageism and promoting active ageing. Clemens Tesch-Römer and Liat Ayalon presented cultural and societal patterns of age-related discrimination and their impact on social and public policies, and they proposed research to expand the evidence base. Oxana Sinyavskaya then followed with an analysis of the active ageing concept that has shaped social policies around ageing over the past decades. Synthesizing scientific and political perspectives, she revealed the needs for further research and policy development.
Speakers:
Liat Ayalon, PhD, is Professor at the School of Social Work, Bar Ilan University, Israel. She coordinated international EU-funded programmes on the topic of ageism (EuroAgeism.eu, EU COST Ageism). She consults for both national and international organizations concerning the development and evaluation of programmes and services for older adults. She was recently selected by the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing as one of 50 world leaders working to transform the world to be a better place in which to grow older.
Clemens Tesch-Römer is Director of the German Centre of Gerontology, Berlin (DZA), Germany, and Adjunct Professor for Psychology at the Free University of Berlin. His research interests include social integration and societal participation in the second half of life, ageism, theoretical conceptions of the life-course, successful ageing and social inequality.
Oxana Sinyavskaya is Deputy Director of the Institute for Social Policy at the National Research University – Higher School of Economics, located in Moscow, Russia. Her research interests include well-being in old age, active ageing, pension reforms and retirement behaviour, long-term care and family policies. She consulted for both national and international organizations on the issues of active ageing and social policies in ageing societies, and estimated the Active Ageing Index in Russia and Kazakhstan.
