On July 13(th) 2010, Lazlo Andor (Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion) declared that active ageing could make the baby-boomers generation a part of the solution of the demographic problem, instead of identifying with it. This is the reason why the "Europe 2020" strategy draws the attention to the necessity of ensuring that the elderly will remain healthy and active for as long as possible. The purpose of this article is to define the exact concept of "active ageing", its content, as well as some beneficial tips by applying innovative programs in order to promote it in the European Union. Reading the published papers the impression is that despite the increasing number of the elderly in Europe, the potential of an active life while ageing can be beneficial in many ways for the society. It is required that the local and regional authorities create the appropriate conditions for participation, while making thoughtful use of the European funding programs.
1. Introduction / Christian Aspalter and Alan Walker -- 2. The concept of active ageing / Alan Walker -- 3. New perspectives for active ageing : the normative approach of developmental social policy / Christian Aspalter -- 4. Active ageing in South Korea / Sung-Jae Choi -- 5. Active ageing in Taiwan / Wan-I Lin -- 6. Active ageing in Hong Kong / Joe C.B. Leung -- 7. Active ageing in mainland China / Vivian W.Q. Lou -- 8. Active ageing in Malaysia / Sharifah Norazizan Syed Abdul Rashid -- 9. Active ageing in Singapore / Kalyani K. Mehta -- 10. Active ageing in Indonesia / Evi Nurvidya Arifin -- 11. Conclusion : the way forward for active ageing / Alan Walker and Christian Aspalter.
"East Asian societies are changing rapidly, and one of the most important facets of this transformation is the ageing of society. 'Active ageing' is one of the few concepts available today to effectively address the problems arising from a highly-aged and, particularly in East Asia, fast-ageing society, offering a new social policy paradigm to redirect and innovate new social policies, particularly social services, social transfers, social regulations and laws, towards more investment in and support of the fast rising number of elderly citizens. This book focuses on the experiences of East Asian societies where active ageing has been implemented. It presents a thorough analysis of the concept of active ageing and its potential and problems of implementations in different stages of development in East Asia, whilst providing theoretical clarity to, and broadening the concept of, active ageing. Further, the country-focused case studies explore how to design, pursue, measure and evaluate social policies, highlight the problems related to the implementation of the concept of active ageing in social policy and outline the practical implications of active ageing theory in policy making. Active Ageing in Asia will appeal to students and scholars of social and public policy, social work, gerontology and health and social administration, as well as to policy makers working in the field"--
"East Asian societies are changing rapidly, and one of the most important facets of this transformation is the ageing of society. 'Active ageing' is one of the few concepts available today to effectively address the problems arising from a highly-aged and, particularly in East Asia, fast-ageing society, offering a new social policy paradigm to redirect and innovate new social policies, particularly social services, social transfers, social regulations and laws, towards more investment in and support of the fast rising number of elderly citizens. This book focuses on the experiences of East Asian societies where active ageing has been implemented. It presents a thorough analysis of the concept of active ageing and its potential and problems of implementations in different stages of development in East Asia, whilst providing theoretical clarity to, and broadening the concept of, active ageing. Further, the country-focused case studies explore how to design, pursue, measure and evaluate social policies, highlight the problems related to the implementation of the concept of active ageing in social policy and outline the practical implications of active ageing theory in policy making. Active Ageing in Asia will appeal to students and scholars of social and public policy, social work, gerontology and health and social administration, as well as to policy makers working in the field""--
This study focuses on the concept of active ageing in the "Active Ageing: A Policy Framework" by World Health Organization. The purpose is to understand the meaning and the origins of the concept with the help of Foucauldian perspective. The analyzing method is content analysis guided by theory. The theoretical framework consists of Michel Foucault´s ideas about governmentality, subject and power and Nikolas Rose´s thoughts about governing. Gilles Deleuze´s control society is also part of the theoretical framework. The subject of active ageing needs to follow a regimen based on activity and health. Governmentality on the society level supports this subjectivity and thus connects them to the network of power; the special nature of the older population is recognized. Even though the concept is named "active ageing" the subjects do represent a wider age scale. These subjects need to prepare for the old age both economically and health-wise. This shows that the whole time of living, not only the old age, is medicalized. When it comes to the origins of the concept of active ageing and the user of power there is a connection to social gerontology and activity theory, and rationalities. The neoliberal rationality has affected on the knowledge that has been produced of the ageing and this is seen in the connection between the activity theory and active ageing. This, and the network structure of the different actors, makes it challenging to find the source of the power when it comes to the concept of active ageing.
Intro -- Contents -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- 1: Towards an Evidence-Based Active Ageing Strategy -- 1.1 Introduction -- 1.2 Use of AAI for Policymaking -- 1.3 Subnational Adaptations of the AAI -- 1.4 Comparative Analysis of Active Ageing -- 1.5 Methodological Improvements in Measuring Active Ageing -- 1.6 Use of Active Ageing Index in Non-EU Countries -- References -- Part I: Building Evidence for Active Ageing Policies Active Ageing Index and its Potential -- 2: Are Societies with a High Value on the Active Ageing Index More Age Integrated? -- 2.1 Background -- 2.2 Conditions for Cross-age Interaction -- 2.2.1 Laws and Policies -- 2.2.2 Settings -- 2.2.3 Controls -- 2.3 Cross-age Interaction and Ageism -- 2.4 Method -- 2.4.1 Data -- 2.4.2 Measures -- 2.4.3 Analytical Strategy -- 2.5 Results -- 2.5.1 AAI and Settings Enabling Cross-age Interactions -- 2.5.2 Determinants of Cross-age Friendships -- 2.5.3 Cross-age Friendship and Ageism -- 2.6 Conclusion -- References -- 3: The Expected, Evaluated, Perceived, Valued and Prevalent Social Roles of Older People: Are They by Consent? -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 The Demography-Related Context and Roles Older People Are Expected to Play in Actively Ageing Societies -- 3.3 Social Roles in Higher Age -- 3.3.1 The Active Ageing Index as an Evaluation of Role Performance on the National Level -- 3.3.2 Roles to Play: As "Society" Sees It -- 3.3.3 Preferred Roles: From the Perspective of Older People Themselves -- 3.4 Expected, Evaluated, Perceived and Valued Roles: Are They by Consent? -- 3.5 Roles Played -- 3.6 Conclusions and Discussion -- References -- 4: The Active Ageing Index (AAI) and its Relation to the Quality of Life of Older Adults -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 Methods, Data and Variables -- 4.3 Results -- 4.4 Discussion -- References.
"The Social Europe guide is a bi-annual publication aimed at providing to an interested but not necessarily specialized audience a concise overview of specific areas of EU policy in the field of employment, social affairs and inclusion. It illustrates the key issues and challenges, explains policy actions and instruments at EU level and provides examples of best practices from EU Member States. It also presents views on the subject from the Council Presidency and the European Parliament. The third volume in this series gives an overview of the main demographic trends faced by Europe, such as ageing, a decrease in the working age population and declining fertility. It describes the EU's actions to promote active ageing, and explains EU policy efforts to ensure adequate, safe and sustainable pensions for the decades to come."--Provided by publisher
In: Lassen , A J & Moreira , T 2020 , ' New Bikes for the Old : Materialisations of Active Ageing ' , Science & Technology Studies , vol. 33 , no. 3 , pp. 39-56 . https://doi.org/10.23987/sts.77239
In the last 15 years, STS has established a research programme focused on the sociotechnical reconfiguration of later life, particularly as new political programmes aim to deploy 'active ageing' in contemporary societies. In Denmark, the bicycle is a key technology in this aim, because of how it articulates sustainable living, health and social participation. Thus, two new 'inclusive cycling' initiatives for older people have been developed. Drawing on ethnographic data, we explore the ways the bikes differ, and how they explicitly mobilise active ageing as a form of 'good old age' in different ways. We argue that whereas 'Cycling without Age' rickshaws attempt to assemble social participation for older people, 'Duo-Bikes' aims to enable capacities through physical activity in later life. We further explore what happens when these two schemes meet, and suggest how searching for a compromise will be necessary to enhance opportunities to cycle in later life. ; In the last 15 years, STS has established a research programme focused on the sociotechnical reconfiguration of later life, particularly as new political programmes aim to deploy 'active ageing' in contemporary societies. In Denmark, the bicycle is a key technology in this aim, because of how it articulates sustainable living, health and social participation. Thus, two new 'inclusive cycling' initiatives for older people have been developed. Drawing on ethnographic data, we explore the ways the bikes differ, and how they explicitly mobilise active ageing as a form of 'good old age' in different ways. We argue that whereas 'Cycling without Age' rickshaws attempt to assemble social participation for older people, 'Duo-Bikes' aim to enable capacities through physical activity in later life. We further explore what happens when these two schemes meet, and suggest how searching for a compromise will be necessary to enhance opportunities to cycle in later life.
The year 2012 is designated as the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations. The aim of the year is to raise awareness of the position of older people in a manner where they can enjoy a better quality of life and still play an active role in society. There are good reasons for designating 2012 as such a year.The OECD has estimated that by the year 2050, more than 33% of men and 38% of women in the EU25 will be 60 years or older compared with 18% and 24%, respectively, for the year 2000. The European Statistical Office projects that by 2060, there will be only two people of working age (15–64) in the EU for every person aged over 65, compared with a ratio of 4 to 1 today. Keeping in mind that an increasing share of the youth between 15 and 30 are studying, the consequences of these figures are even more challenging.Many politicians are seriously concerned about financing of the pensions and welfare systems. Another concern is how to allocate sufficient healthcare personnel to give the ageing population a decent service. These challenges are good reasons for the EU to include "solidarity between generations" as an element in the activity of this year.This special issue on active ageing is a contribution from the Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies to the year of active ageing. The articles examine work and ageing from different angles and horizons of understanding. Together, the articles question some of the myths that exist on ageing and work and assess some of the actions being taken to keep older workers in employment. This issue is therefore an important contribution to the development of our understanding of active ageing and measures used to develop an active ageing policy (.)
Ensuring active ageing, i.e. the optimisation of opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age, is an important growth strategy for the EU. Achieving a successful active ageing policy will require a sea change in thinking about what ageing means in both economic and social terms.
The Active Ageing Index (AAI) can be applied across countries to compare active aging outcomes, evaluate the current situation regarding ageing, and identify the most desired directions for policy action. While the AAI-EU is addressed on a national level, it can also be used for assessing active ageing policies on the municipal level, which is the case in this study. The aim of this article was to assess active ageing amongst older people in western parts of Finland by adapting the methodology used for the AAI-EU. We used GERDA data (n=5,011) collected from people aged 66, 71, 76, 81 and 86 for our descriptive analyses. The results showed that the municipalities differed in their active ageing outcomes, and that men and Swedish speakers generally scored higher on the index, which is something that warrants further investigation. Based on the results, we argue that AAI could potentially be used as a tool to monitor various dimensions of active ageing on a regional level and that gender and ethno-linguistic characteristics should be a central concern for a discussion on ageing in our study region. ; Aktiivisen ikääntymisen indeksiä (AAI) voidaan soveltaa kaikissa maissa aktiivisen ikääntymisen tulosten vertailemiseksi, ikääntymisen nykytilan arvioimiseksi sekä politiikkatoimien tavoitteiden tunnistamiseksi. Vaikka AAI-EU on suunnattu kansalliselle tasolle, sitä voidaan käyttää myös aktiivisen ikääntymisen politiikan tarkasteluun kuntatasolla, kuten tässä tutkimuksessa. Tämän artikkelin tarkoituksena oli arvioida aktiivista ikääntymistä Länsi-Suomessa AAI-EU:n avulla. Kuvailevassa analyysissä käytimme 66-, 71-, 76-, 81- ja 86-vuotiailta kerättyä GERDA-aineistoa (n = 5011). Tutkimuksemme osoitti, että aktiivisen ikääntymisen tulokset eroavat kuntatasolla ja että miehet ja ruotsinkieliset sijoittuivat indeksissä yleisesti korkeammalle, mikä kaipaa lisätutkimusta. Tulosten perusteella voidaan todeta, että AAI on soveltuva työkalu aktiivisen ikääntymisen seurannassa alueellisella tasolla ja että sukupuolen sekä kieliryhmien ominaispiirteet tulisi huomioida ikäntymistä koskevassa keskustelussa tutkimusalueellamme. ; Ett index för det aktiva åldrandet (AAI) används för att jämföra hur olika länder hanterar en åldrande befolkning och lyfter fram var behoven för olika policyinsatser är som störst. Emedan AAI-EU används för att jämföra situationen i europeiska länder, så kan indexet även användas för att jämföra kommuner, vilket är något som vi gjorde i den här studien. Syftet med studien var således att undersöka det aktiva åldrandet bland äldre i västra Finland genom att använda metodologin som använts för AAI-EU. Vi använde GERDA-data (n=5011) insamlat bland 66-, 71-, 76-, 81-, och 86-åringar för våra deskriptiva analyser. Resultaten visade att det fanns skillnader i det aktiva åldrandet mellan kommunerna. Resultaten visade även att fanns skillnader mellan svensk- och finskspråkiga så att svenskspråkiga placerade sig högre på indexet. Baserat på resultaten från studien så konkluderar vi att ett regionalt AAI kunde användas för att följa upp det aktiva åldrandet på kommunnivå och att skillnader mellan män och kvinnor samt skillnader mellan etnolingvistiska grupper borde lyftas fram i diskussioner om det aktiva åldrandet i vår region.
The ageing of the population is an inevitable social development trend and is presenting many challenges to modern society. The issue of population ageing has involved politics, economy, culture, society and other fields. With the increase of ageing population, the well-being of the elderly will determine the realization of harmonious society. The development of education for the elderly is an inevitable trend of social development. Education for the elderly will contribute to the harmonious development of the whole society. The concept of active ageing is gaining popularity among governments. Continuing education for the elderly in the context of active ageing has many potential benefits. Elderly education can improve the quality of life of the elderly, help them maintain physical functions and productivity for a longer period of time, create opportunities for the elderly to form learning groups, meet new friends, increase social participation, and reduce the feeling of alienation. The development of education for the elderly can also help to develop and use the potential human resources of the elderly and thus promote economic development. The analysis of the benefits of elderly education will draw people's attention to the importance of the development of elderly education and encourage people from all walks of life to support the further development of education for the elderly. While there are many benefits of continuing education for the elderly, there exist some challenges, one of which is the lack of special teachers for elderly education. The lack of specialized teachers at the Open University for old people can be solved partly by taking advantage of the learners' lifelong work experience and accumulation of knowledge, and encouraging them to become volunteer teachers. Another solution is to offer various kinds of online courses to facilitate flexible learning at the elderly's convenience. The development of elderly education will contribute to the active ageing process.