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New article describes the innovative co-created approach adopted by Portugal’s most innovative age-friendly initiative: The Cascais Protocol 

Demographic data such as age, gender, and income, is perhaps the single most important source of information for city planners. As ageing in urban settlement emerges as a global demographic trend, a better understanding of the importance and limitations of demographics should be placed at the top of researchers’ list of priorities. City planners are… Read more: How can a critical approach to the demographics of ageing better support city planning?

Da Oslos eldre innbyggere ble spurt om hva som opptar dem, sto transport øverst på lista. Dette vil kanskje overraske noen, men det gir mening når vi anerkjenner den sentrale rollen transportmidler har i å forme byene og livsstilen vår. Helt siden den industrielle revolusjonen har transportmidler symbolisert potensialet til og kampen mellom teknologiske paradigmer.… Read more: Hvorfor er mobilitet så viktig for å skape et aldersvennlig Oslo?

Oslos innbyggere er kjent med begge truslene. De er kanskje verken realistiske eller uunngåelige. Det er mulig å få til en gradvis overgang fra status quo. Å anerkjenne at vi står overfor en type demografisk endring vi aldri har vært gjennom før er et godt første skritt.

Praising older athletes achievements by denying the benefits of growing old is not acceptable anymore.  High-level athletes should be a source of inspiration to all ages.

Befolkningsaldring og urbanisering er de to viktigste demografiske trendene som påvirker verden i dag. Ikke bare har menneskeheten oppnådd privilegiet å leve lengre liv, men andelen eldre som del av befolkningen også. Norge leder an i denne utviklingen og Oslo har en spesielt viktig rolle å spille. For fullt ut å nyte godt av fordelene… Read more: Hvordan skaper vi en aldersvennlig by?

On Monday, 20th of November, HiOA and the city of Oslo will host the first debate about the development of an Age-Friendly City. The event is free and will have the presence of HiOA’s rector Curt Rice, and Inga Marte Torkildsen from the City Council for Elderly, Health and Social Services in Oslo.

From January 12th to February 19th the London Design Museum had an exhibition dedicated to the demographic change. Entitled “New Old” the exhibition looked at how design can help people lead fuller, healthier and more rewarding lives into old age. The curator, Jeremy Myerson, a renowned academic dedicated to people-centred and inclusive design, could not be clearer about… Read more: The London Design Museum Challenge to the Dominant Perspective on Ageing

Buddy Guy (80), Ronnie Wood (69) and Jonny Lang (35). Music is perhaps the best examples of the power of intergenerational partnerships. Enjoy!

A heritage of Roman culture developed by Portuguese during the nineteenth century, the Portuguese pavement is a good example of the potential dilemmas that can arise from age-friendly initiatives. That ancient city technology is not only a smart and eco-friendly solution but also an infinite source of inspiration for artists. However, when it comes to pedestrian safety, in particular the… Read more: Solving Age-Friendly Dilemmas

Creativity and innovation are often seen as a monopoly of “the young”. Young persons are supposed to be naturally more prone to the novel simply because they are young. The main issue with that sort of assumption is that it is also frequently accompanied by the idea that older persons do not have the same “drive”, or… Read more: When Ageism Destroys Creativity

In this video (published in February 2013) IBM presents their view for an “Age-Smart City”: As usual, the perspective about ageing is pretty narrow. However, the video can be a good starting point for a discussion and brings some interesting examples.

“Once I wanted to be the greatest No wind or waterfall could stall me And then came the rush of the flood The stars at night turned deep to dust” Artist: Cat Power Director & Editor: Adam Hall Cinematography: Ryan Samul Women’s Bowling League, Salt Lake City, Utah

The United Nations Department of Economic  and Social Affairs recently published an interesting infochart about the World Population Ageing, reflecting the latest estimates and projections from the 2015 Revision of World Population Prospects. “Virtually every country in the world will experience growth in the number and share of older persons in the population over the next… Read more: World Population Ageing 2015

Ageing… According to a “real” scientist: In short… 4’30” Our cells have expiration dates… What causes that limit? PROBABLY… Chromosomes… #senescence

Young-old: Urban Utopias of an Aging Society is the title of the new book(s) published by Deane Simpson. The book explores the impact of population ageing in the making of urban spaces (territories). The author’s study on eccentric cases is an inspiring journey. However, it might generate some misunderstandings and ultimately, not provide an accurate… Read more: Gerontolescence and urban utopias

Tuba Atlantic is a norwegian short movie directed by Hallvar Witzø. It tells the story of a 70-year-old man, who receives the fatal prognoses by his doctor, that he only has a few more days to live. The movie was nominated for the 84th Academy Awards, and it is easy to understand why…

Have you ever seen a penguin slip?

In honor of Henning Mankell, who passed away this Monday (October 5th) aged 67, we reproduce the introduction of an article he published in the New York Times about his experience in Mozambique. “I CAME to Africa with one purpose: I wanted to see the world outside the perspective of European egocentricity. I could have chosen Asia… Read more: Why human beings have two ears but only one tongue?

The famous neurologist Olivier Sacks passed away last Sunday. His contributions to a more humane science have been praised all over the globe. Sacks had a very interesting and positive perspective on old age and he lived up to it.

Asok is an Indian intern in the famous comic strip Dilbert. He is brilliant and one of the most efficient workers at the office. Despite of his excellent performance, he is never hired as an employee and is often denied the use of company resources. In these two Dilbert strips from 2006 and 2010, Asoks… Read more: Young vs Old: A glimpse into the technology industry workforce relationships

“This year, we mark the 80th anniversary of Social Security.  We mark the 50th anniversary of Medicare.  We’ve grown so accustomed to these programs being a part of American life – these bedrock, foundation stones of our society – sometimes it’s easy to forget how revolutionary they were at the time.  They were hard to… Read more: White House Conference on Aging

IBM and HealthXL are supporting a health hackathon to explore options for tackling the challenges of an ageing population. It is an important initiative, but the recurrent focus on the problems of ageing could be a huge mistake and a wrong starting point.

Lecture for the HiOA International Summer School on Universal Design of ICT. The main objective of this presentation is to discuss the political, ideological and ethical implications present on technology design focusing the case of population ageing.

The European consortium AFE-INNOVNET recently launched an online repository to collect age-friendly environments initiatives in Europe. Their main objective is to exchange knowledge, foster synergies and contribute to the scaling up of these initiatives.

OECD new report explores the roles of cities on ageing societies by answering an important question: “How are urban populations ageing?” One of the main findings on this report is the fact that within OECD metropolitan areas, the older population is growing faster than the total population. The report also shows that ageing trends are… Read more: Ageing in Cities

If I had had only the opportunity to attend the opening keynote presentations at the eighth IAGG-ER Congress, the visit to Dublin would already have been worth it. Prof. Jan Baars, Desmond O’Neill and Rose Anne Kenny gave brilliant and inspiring lectures. You can listen to the first presentation at the end of this post… Read more: Critical Turns of Time, Age and Ageing

For some of us the IAGG-ER congress in Dublin started a bit earlier with a very interesting master class on Population Ageing and the Challenges of Integrating Paid Work and Family Care Work. The master class is organised by The IAGG Global Social Initiative on Ageing (GSIA).

Age-Smart Oslo will attend the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics European Congress in Dublin, Ireland. The programme is available here. You can also read the abstracts here. The official website is: http://www.iaggdublin2015.org/index.html

According to song facts, the septuagenarian Eric Clapton wrote this song after the divorce with Pattie Boyd, in 1988 (the song was released in 1989). In my humble opinion, the unplugged version has one of the most beautiful piano solos in history (5’18”):

After completing their 60th birthday, the average Norwegian can expect to live for another 24 years. Within these, he or she can also expect to have almost 18 years of good health. In Oslo, this fantastic human achievement has already transformed the landscape, but the coming years will bring new challenges.

This almost octogenarian masterpiece is a “must watch movie”. Not only because it is very funny, but also because it raises some fundamental debates on society and technology.

“Slow death to the infamous Portuguese who invented the Portuguese pavement. Cursed d. Manuel 1st and his gang of lieutenants Eusébios. Irregular square boulder crushed by hand. By hand! Of course it would break loose, no one noticed it was going break loose? White, black, white, black, the waves of Copacabana. Who cares about the… Read more: Age-friendly dilemmas: The case of the Portuguese pavement

The celebration of International Women’s Day is an important occasion to remember that older persons are not a homogeneous group. The recognition of older persons’ diversity – for example, gender differences – is an important step towards the development of better and more adequate policies. Violence is one of the main problems affecting older women… Read more: Older women’s day

According to the Statistisk sentralbyrå, individuals above sixty-five years already represent 12.3 per cent of the population in the capital of Norway. In absolute terms, older persons in Oslo account for some 44 000 women and 33 000 men, representing 57 per cent and 43 per cent of the older persons group, respectively. By 2025,… Read more: How old is old in Oslo?