As the consequences of the demographic change have become more apparent during the last two decades, the increasing attention on ageing, ageism and age-related challenges paid by the European institutions, has followed in a promising direction. Alongside the United Nations’ endorsement of the Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021-2030) the three successive Presidencies of the Council of the European Union (DE, PT, SL), have committed themselves to further the European debate on ageing as well as the endeavours to counter age founded inequalities. Proof of this commitment are the European Council Conclusions on the rights and participation of older people in the digital era published in October 2020 (see here for EAEA’s response), and the joint declaration on ageing in December 2020. Following these policy developments, the finalised version of the conclusions on the mainstreaming of ageing in public policy are expected to be published this year.
Against this background, EAEA and LLLP are proposing Wellbeing and Ageing to be the topic of the first meeting of the Lifelong Learning Interest Group in 2021. Acknowledging the importance and urgency of the topic, we are convinced that using the momentum of the international efforts to shed light on the issue and the risks of neglecting the necessary debate on ageing can entail.
With the current prolonged situation further dividing Europeans rather than bringing them together, we would like to discuss the potential of intergenerational learning. It would be interesting to explore how the EU currently supports intergenerational learning and what are good practice examples. How can we foster more and better generational exchange and learning to create more solidarity and cohesion in Europe and especially between the different generations?