York Festival of Ideas
Festival Focus
The perils and perceptions of ageing
Tuesday 26 June
By 2035 the number of people aged 85 and over is projected to be almost 2.5 times larger than in 2010, reaching 3.5 million and accounting for 5 per cent of the total population. The population aged 65 and over will account for 23 per cent of the total population in 2035, while the proportion of the population aged between 16 and 64 is due to fall from 65 per cent to 59 per cent.
Population ageing brings potential benefits but also challenges to society. Appropriate and up to date statistics on ageing are needed to inform policy makers and clarify requirements for service delivery. Key policy areas are health and social care, the ageing of the workforce and pensions, housing and transport.
This Festival Focus considers a topic which affects us all - ageing. Talks by biologist Lewis Wolpert and science writer David Bainbridge will explore the scientific background and the implications of our ageing population, and what middle age is and what it is for.
Building on the launch of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s Better Life project the Festival Focus on Ageing Day will be rounded off with a major public debate, with leading experts, seeking to challenge perceptions of ageing and addressing the technological, sociological and medical implications of a rapidly ageing population.
- You're looking very well: The surprising nature of getting old, Professor Lewis Wolpert
- Middle age: A natural history, Professor David Bainbridge
- Debate on the perils and potential of an ageing society
Exhibition
The JRF invites you to view an exclusive all-day photographic exhibition and 3Sixty immersive installation which is based on the voices of older people themselves. Their personal stories inspired a poem by Sir Andrew Motion and a website highlighting their experiences and ability to flourish across a century of huge change. Students from the University of York have faithfully reproduced these stories for the 3Sixty space.
Live Music Now
Before the Ageing Debate there will be a performance by England-based Canadian tenor John Bacon, as an illustration of the work of Live Music Now on health and wellbeing - how live music can effect positive improvements in mental and physical health.