Demographic Change & Active Ageing

This is no longer a matter of doubt: Europe is growing older. This has a number of impacts for regions: how will less young people manage to pay for the pension of increasingly more older people? How do we pay for the increased demand on our health and social services? And where do we find more health and social workers when the active workforce is shrinking?

This may sound gloomy, but try looking at it another way: after all, higher life expectancy is an achievement. Older people are a source of experience that we can tap into. And if we manage to stay healthier for longer while we grow old, then, older people can continue to be work, create, volunteer, consume and therefore actively contribute to society for much longer than in the past.