ACTIVE AGEING IN EUROPE:
NEW CHALLENGES AND
POLICY RESPONSES
CHRIS PHILLIPSON
KEELE UNIVERSITY
ACTIVE AGEING IN EUROPE
Areas covered:
•
•
•
•
How did Active Ageing develop?
What is Active Ageing?
Where did Active Ageing come from?
Principles and policies for Active Ageing.
Milestones in the Development of Active
Ageing
Emerging debate through the 1990s and 2000s
emphasising older people as active participants in society:
• 1993 Year of Older People
• 1999 UN Year of Older People
• 2002 Madrid International Plan of Action
• 2001 WHO Active ageing: from evidence to action
• 2002 WHO Active Ageing: A Policy Framework
• 2012 European Year of Active Ageing and Solidarity
Between Generations.
What is Active Ageing?
Active ageing defined as:
‘..the process of optimising opportunities for health,
participation and security in order to enhance
quality of life as people age. Active ageing applies
to both individuals and groups. It allows people to
realise their potential for physical, social, and
mental well-being throughout their lives and to
participate in society according to their needs,
desires and capacities, while providing them with adequate
protection, security and care when they require assistance’.
WHO, 2002 Active Ageing: A Policy Framework
WHERE DID ACTIVE AGEING COME
FROM?
Variety of influences in suggesting need for a new
approach to understanding ageing:
• Ideas developed in 1970s/1980s about ‘successful’ or
‘productive’ ageing.
• Distinction between the ‘third’ and ‘fourth age’ in 1990s.
• Challenges to the idea of ageing as a time of dependency and
passivity in critical perspectives on ageing in 1990s/2000s.
These ideas reinforced through concerns about:
• The pace of demographic change
• Possible tensions between generations
WHERE DID ACTIVE AGEING COME
FROM?
Ideas about ‘successful’ or ‘productive’ ageing
emerged in the United States in 1970s/1980s:
• Successful ageing (Rowe and Kahn, 1987) focused
upon the need to develop new roles and relationships to
replace those lost in the transition from work to
retirement.
• Productive ageing (Morrow-Howell, 2001) developed
the theme that older people could develop activities (e.g.
delaying retirement, volunteering) which could defray
some of the costs associated with ageing.
WHERE DID ACTIVE AGEING COME
FROM?
Distinction emerges in 1990s between 3rd and 4th Age:
‘The life phase in which there is no longer employment
and child-raising to commandeer time and before
morbidity enters to limit activity and mortality brings
everything to a close, has been called the Third Age.
Those in this phase of life have passed through a first
age of youth, and a second of maturity…and have
reached a third age in which they can, within fairly wide
limits, live their lives as they please, before being
taken over by a fourth age of decline’.
(Weiss and Bass, 2003)
WHERE DID ACTIVE AGEING COME
FROM?
.
Critical gerontology develops in 1980s/1990s as a
reaction to traditional approaches to ageing:
Key argument: Old age can be seen as much as a social
construction as a period of life determined by biology.
Old age is shaped by social attitudes and expectations,
political and economic structures, and cultural beliefs
and associations. (e.g. Townsend, 1981; Baars et al.,
2006).
WHERE DID ACTIVE AGEING COME FROM?
Ideas about encouraging ‘activity’ and ‘participation’ were
reinforced by two other dimensions:
• DEMOGRAPHY
• INTERGENERATIONAL SOLIDARITY
Table 1: % of Population 65+ (80+yrs)
(selected years)
1960
2020*
2040*
2060*
Belgium
12.0 (1.8)
19.2 (5.6)
24.3 (8.1)
25.5 (9.9)
Netherlands
8.9 (1.4)
19.7 (4.8)
27.0 (9.1))
27.2 (11.1)
France
11.6 (2.0)
20.2 (6.0)
25.6 (9.4)
26.6 (11.0)
Germany
11.5 (1.6)
23.0 (7.2)
31.7 (10.5)
32.8 (13.5)
11.7 (1.9)
18.7 (5.2)
23.2 (7.7)
24.8 (9.3)
Spain
UK
* Projected values: 2020 -2060
Source: Eurostat 2012
Changes in Median & Average Age 1950-2050
EU 27: Aging in Europe
50
48
46
44
42
40
38
36
34
32
Median Age
Source: Eurostat: EU Comm 2005
Average Age
2050
2040
2030
2020
2010
2000
1990
1980
1970
1960
1950
30
Table 2: Life expectancy and healthy life years
at aged 65, 2009
Life Expectancy at age
65 (Yrs)
Healthy Life Years at
age 65 (Yrs)
Male
Female
Male
Female
Eu-27 1
17.2
20.7
8.2
8.4
Belgium
17.5
21.1
10.5
10.1
Netherlands
17.6
21.0
9.4
10.3
France
18.7
23.7
8.8
9.2
Spain
18.3
22.5
9.2
8.4
UK 1
17.7
20.3
10.7
11.8
Germany
17.6
20.8
6.4
6.5
Sweden
18.2
21.2
13.6
14.8
Source: Eurostat 2012
WHERE DID ACTIVE AGEING COME FROM?
THE INTERGENERATIONAL SOLIDARITY
CONTEXT
Why the focus on generations & solidarity?
• Concern that expanding population of
older people will create pressures on
younger generations.
• Need to develop measures which draw
links between different generations.
• Need to reinforce existing contacts e.g.
through the family and within the
community.
Table 3: % of individuals who think there is a
lot of tension between young & old people
2003
2007
EU 27
-
17.7
Belgium
21
17.5
Netherlands
19
12.5
Germany
13
15
France
23
16.9
Spain
14
19.6
UK
17
20.5
Hungary
-
30.8
Croatia
-
36
Source: European Quality of Life Survey
DEVELOPING ACTIVE AGEING
• PRINCIPLES OF ACTIVE AGEING
• POLITICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL
INITIATIVES
• POLICY INITIATIVES
• NEW SOLIDARITES
PILLARS OF ACTIVE AGEING
POLICY
INITIATIVES
EXTENDING WORK
PENSIONS
PUBLIC HEALTH
PRINCIPLES OF ACTIVE AGEING
NEW
SOLIDARITIES
16
PRINCIPLES OF ACTIVE AGEING
Key Principles:
• ‘Activity’ should be meaningful to individual concerned –
family and community-based and not just work.
• ‘Activity’ should be developed across the whole life
course – hence include all age groups.
• ‘Activity’ should be an opportunity to explore rights and
obligations which span generations.
• ‘Activity’ should be empowering and participative.
• ‘Activity’ should recognise national and cultural
diversity.
(Walker and Maltby, 2012)
POLITICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL
CHANGES
Nation-states/European Union
• Linking of improvement in life expectancy with
upward revision of pension ages.
• Reform of public health and earlier detection of
diseases alongside health promotion and selfhealth care.
• Changes to pension system and reduction of
proportions of people at risk of poverty (arguably
the biggest risk to achieving active ageing).
Table 4: Share of population with specific
difficulties, 2009 (Single Adults 65+)
Unable to keep
home warm
Unable to pay
1 week Annual
Holiday from
home
Unable to afford
meal every
second day
%
%
%
EU27
11.7
43.6
13.1
Belgium
7.0
42.6
6.2
Germany
5.8
27.1
13.8
France
6.9
42.6
9.9
Netherlands
1.7
20.7
2.8
Spain
9.9
49.2
12.3
UK
5.0
22.7
4.0
Poland
29.1
77.5
28.2
Source: Eurostat 2012
POLICY INITIATIVES
• INTER-GENERATIONAL EDUCATION
• INTER-GENERATIONAL CITIES
• INTER-GENERATIONAL
ENVIROMENTAL ACTIVITIES
21
INTER-GENERATIONAL EDUCATION
• WHO (2001) Active Ageing argues that education can
provide a contribution to improving the quality of
later life.
Key role for universities/ adult education:
• Can play a leading role in creating a new type of ageing
for the 21st century, built around extended economic,
family and citizenship roles
• Supporting people in the two decades beyond their
main work careers
• Unlocking mental capital and supporting well-being in
later life
• Supporting health and social care professionals in
their work with older people
Age Profile of UK Postgraduate Students
2009-2010
23
Universities/ adult education and older
learners
Educational and
personal development
programmes
Health and social
care programmes
aimed at
professionals working
with older people
Employment-related
programmes
Social Inclusion
programmes
24
Universities and older learners
Three Key Challenges
Intergenerational mix
of students
Need for robust
evidence about
benefits of learning in
later life
Need for higher
education strategy for
older learners
DEVELOPING INTER-GENERATIONAL
CITIES
Age-friendly cities (AFCs) are a significant part of
debate on active ageing. WHO (2007) argue that
older people require supportive and enabling
environments to compensate for physical and
social changes associated with ageing.
• ‘Making cities more age-friendly is a
necessary and logical response to promote
the wellbeing and contributions of older
urban residents and keep cities thriving’
(WHO, 2007)
DEVELOPING INTER-GENERATIONAL
CITIES
BENEFITS OF CITIES
 Infrastructure of public facilities – ‘public affluence’
versus ‘privatized consumerism’ (Davis, 2002)
 Specialist resources for minority groups – may be of
particular importance in old age (Buffel et al., 2012).
 Broader range of social networks
– importance of strangers & neighbours as well as
friends and family (Gardner, 2011)
 Innovation in cities
e.g. smart city movement (Ratti and Townsend, 2011);
social networking technology.
26
DEVELOPING INTER-GENERATIONAL
CITIES
New Vision for inter-generational cities:
• SHARED SPACES?
• SHARED HOUSING?
• SHARED FACILITIES?
INTERGENERATIONAL
ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVITIES
‘Environment as a natural connector of generations’
‘Older adults are concerned about the world they
are leaving behind for … younger generations.
The young are concerned about the state of the
world they will inherit. Both populations are often
particularly susceptible to the same
environmental health hazards… They are each
at an age when they are more likely to live life in
their neighbourhoods and have more flexibility in
their schedules than working, commuting middle
generations’. (Steinig and Butts, 2010)
DEVELOPING INTER-GENERATIONAL
ENVIRONMENT ACTIVITIES
•
•
COMMUNITY GARDENING
INITIATIVES
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AND OLDER
PEOPLE
DEVELOPING INTER-GENERATIONAL
ENVIRONMENT ACTIVITIES
Research project on community gardening
(Scharf et al. 2011) in low income area of
Manchester, UK.
• To what extent does participation in gardening
projects facilitate older people’s social
engagement?
• What do older people regard as the benefits and
challenges of participation in a gardening
initiative?
DEVELOPING INTER-GENERATIONAL
ENVIRONMENT ACTIVITIES
• Potential benefits arising from gardening
activities:
– Good physical and mental health (van den Berg et al., 2010)
– Maintenance of healthy lifestyles (Hope and Ellis, 2009)
– Positive well-being outcomes, including reduced isolation
(Wakefield et al., 2007)
– Increased life satisfaction and greater independence (Bhatti,
2006; Wakefield et al., 2007)
– Increased opportunities and ability to learn new skills (Gillaspie,
1988)
– Urban farming initiatives
Before
After
DEVELOPING INTER-GENERATIONAL
ENVIRONMENT ACTIVITIES
• Assuming ownership, taking control:
– “It’s something that we feel is in our control and not
management’s. Telling us, saying ‘You mustn’t do
this, you mustn’t do that’. We put the plants in that we
want to put in. It’s as simple as that. And it’s a form of
feeling ‘Well, at least we’ve got control of something’.”
(Valerie, Group A)
– “I’m not the only person who is frustrated to death in
here [sheltered housing]. It’s been a Godsend to me
the garden club. And I think everybody else has felt
the same. You can go out there and do things, take
responsibility for something.” (Sue, Group B)
DEVELOPING INTER-GENERATIONAL
ENVIRONMENT ACTIVITIES
• Increasing social engagement:
– “When we started I was very lonely, I didn’t have a hobby. I didn’t
have company apart from the family […] It has given me
something to do. I didn’t feel so lonely. You feel isolated. So if
there is nothing going on in the lounge you can do gardening.”
(Judith, Group A)
– ‘It gives me so much pleasure for anybody that’s
passing and you know they come here from the
school clubs and they always stop and have a look.
And it lifts me then. It makes me want to do it… And
that’s what gardener’s want…to give everyone
pleasure’. (Alf, Group B).
DEVELOPING INTER-GENERATIONAL
ENVIRONMENT ACTIVITIES
University students and older people
• The "Dig it!" programme engages the community and students
in themes around growing edible plants, composting and
supporting biodiversity.
• Students and older ‘Grey Matters’ members are engaged and
planning activities through events and volunteering using an
environmental centre at Keele Unversity. Allotments [volkstuintje
(door de overheid verhuurd)] are being developed on the campus
to demonstrate and exchange skills in gardening and conservation.
• The allotments in particular offer an environment to
demonstrate the principles and practice of intergenerational
knowledge exchange and provide experiential learning to the
community
•
http://www.keele.ac.uk/keelehub/
DEVELOPING NEW SOLIDARITIES
• MUTUAL SOLIDARITIES – re-discovering the
skills of co-operation (Sennett, 2012)
• GENERATIONAL AND FRIENDSHIP
SOLIDARITIES – valuing grand-parenting and
peer support.
• CARING SOLIDARITIES – re-defining care for
the most vulnerable (e.g. those with dementia).
• GLOBAL SOLIDARITIES – sharing skills and
knowledge with low income countries with
rapidly ageing populations.
REFERENCES
Age Platform Europe (2011) How to promote active ageing in Europe.
Buffel, T. Phillipson, C. and Scharf, T. (2012, forthcoming) Ageing in Urban Environments: developing
age-friendly cities, Critical Social Policy Vol. 36
Christensen, K et al. (2009) Ageing populations: the challenges ahead. The Lancet Vol.374
Eurostat (2012) Active ageing and solidarity between generations. A Statistical portrait of the EU 2012.
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Second European
Quality of Life Survey
Middling, S. et al. Gardening and the social engagement of older people. Working with Older People
Vol 15 (3)
Phillipson, C. (2010) Active ageing and universities: engaging older learners. International Journal of
Education and Ageing. Vol 1 (1)
Sennett, R (2012) Together: The Rituals, Pleasures and Politics of Co-Operation London: Allen Lane
Steinig, S and Butts, D (2010) Generations Going Green: Intergenerational Programs Connecting Young and
Old to Improve Our Environment
Walker, A. and Maltby, T. (2012) Active Ageing: A strategic policy solution to demographic ageing in
Europe. Int. Jrnl of Soc Welfare
WHO (2002) Active Ageing: A policy framework. Geneva: WHO
WHO (2007) Global Age Friendly Cities: A Guide. Geneva: WHO