Active ageing in Europe and China : a political economy perspective
Organizer
Department of Sociology and Social Policy, Lingnan University
International Master of Comparative Social Policy Programme (IMCSP), Lingnan University
Felizberta Lo Padilla Tong School of Social Sciences, Saint Francis University
Event Title
Document Type
Public Seminar
Date
4-8-2025
Time
10:30 a.m.
Venue
MPL130567, Lingnan@WestKowloon, M+ West Kowloon Cultural District
Description
The focus of this lecture is Active Ageing, and particularly the application of the concept in social policy. The lecture begins by examining the relationship between social policy and demography, showing that welfare regimes matter. Then it locates the concept of active ageing within its social scientific context, to clarify the ideas behind it. Then it describes how the concept was adopted and applied by policy makers in Europe – the world’s oldest region. However, because of the combination of neoliberal domination in policy processes and the failure to understand the life course nature of ageing, the application took a very narrow economistic form. The limits of this approach are discussed. Then attention turns to China and the limited steps it has taken so far towards adopting this strategy. Finally, the lecture demonstrates, using recent research evidence, how active ageing could both enhance older people’s lives and those who are ageing, and enable societies East and West to age sustainably.
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Walker, A. (2025, Apr 8). Active ageing in Europe and China: A political economy perspective [Video podcast]. Retrieved from https://commons.ln.edu.hk/videos/981/
Additional Information
Speaker
Professor Alan Walker (Professor of Social Policy & Social Gerontology, University of Sheffield, UK)
Prof. Alan Walker (D.Litt., CBE, FBA, FASS, FGSA) is a world-leading scholar in social gerontology and social policy. He is the Emeritus Professor of Social Policy and Social Gerontology at the University of Sheffield, and Co-director of the Healthy Lifespan Institute. He has been researching and writing on aspects of ageing and social policy for nearly 50 years, producing more than 30 books, 200 monographs and research reports and 300 articles. He has supervised 66 successful PhDs. His work has a global reach, including contributions to the WHO’s Active Ageing strategy and the UN’s International Plan of Action on Ageing. He directed several major European projects, including MOPACT and INNOVAGE; and The UK’s largest research programme on ageing, The New Dynamics of Ageing Programme. He also directed the UK Growing Older Programme; the European Research Area in Ageing and FUTURAGE. In 2007 he was given Lifetime Achievement Awards by both the Social Policy Association and the British Society of Gerontology. In 2011 he was awarded the European Association of Gerontology’s first Medal and Honorary Diploma for Advances in Gerontology and Geriatrics (Social and Behavioural Sciences). He was the UK Economic and Social Research Councils’ first Impact Champion in 2013; was appointed CBE in 2014 for Services to Social Science; and made a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America in 2016.