The overall trend is obvious – we are all living longer. In less than 15 years (since 1990), the average global life expectancy for humans has increased by six years. While increasing average life expectancies is undoubtedly one of humanity's greatest achievements, a steadily ageing global population brings with it a range of new challenges and opportunities.
The third Nobel Week Dialogue explored new scientific and cultural perspectives on ageing. In the year 2000, for the first time in history, there were more people in the world aged 60 and over than there were children below the age of 5. Recent predictions on how this demographic shift will continue vary widely, but all agree on one fact: Our world is ageing. In less than 15 years (since 1990), the average global life expectancy for humans has increased by six years. While increasing average life expectancies is undoubtedly one of humanity's greatest achievements, a steadily ageing global population brings with it a range of new challenges and opportunities:
The morning programme for the 2014 Nobel Week Dialogue covered topics ranging from the economic opportunities of ageing to the question whether Nobel Laureates live longer. Panel discussions during the afternoon were divided into three parallel streams: science, innovation and economics. Finally, the sessions joined together and the six attending Laureates drew the meeting to a close by discussing the future of ageing.
The video includes:
- Welcome by Lars Heikensten
- Population Ageing: Causes and Consequences by Jim Vaupel
- Demographic Change and Growth: A Paradox? by Ursula Staudinger
- The Population Ageing "Tsunami" Sweeping Through Japan and Other Asian Countries by Naohiro Ogawa
- Implications of an Older World: Panel discussion with David Bloom, Daniel McFadden, Michael Wolf, Sara Czaja, Martin Kohli and Ursula Staudinger as moderator.
The video includes:
- Why We Age by Tom Kirkwood
- Do Nobel Laureates Live Longer? by Andrew Oswald
- The Limits of Life:How Old Will We Get?: Panel discussion with Cynthia Kenyon, Elizabeth Blackburn, Linda Partridge, Tom Kirkwood, James Vaupel and Adam Smith as moderator.
- New Age, New Politics?: Mikael Damberg in conversation with Mattias Fyrenius
- The Emotional Side of Ageing: Growing Older and Better by Laura Carstensen
- Walking with AGNES to Reengineer an Ageing World by Joe Coughlin
- Wrap-up of morning session
Questions/Topics:
- Why do we age?
- Is there a biological age limit for humans?
- What can we learn from comparative studies and has evolution had a chance to do anything about ageing?
Panellists: Tom Kirkwood, Elizabeth Blackburn, Craig Mello, Cynthia Kenyon, Nils-Göran Larsson and Göran K. Hansson as moderator
Questions/Topics:
- How is the burden of disease changing and who will develop treatments to these diseases?
- Can we afford to treat age-related diseases? Is dementia inevitable?
Panellists: Miia Kivipelto, Linda Partridge, Aaron Ciechanover, Ingmar Skoog, Eric Kandel
Questions/Topics:
- Does technology favour the young?
- How can technology improve the lives of the elderly?
- Can developments in ICT meet older people's needs?
Panellists: Joseph Coughlin, Sara Mazur, Sara Czaja, Sarah Harper and Soki Choi as moderator
Questions/Topics:
- How are the elderly currently perceived?
- Will perceptions change as the population ages?
- How are family values changing and adapting to the demographic change?
Panellists: Naohiro Ogawa, Ursula Staudinger, Martin Kohli, Laura Carstensen and Soki Choi as moderator
Questions/Topics:
- Can welfare systems cope in the face of an ageing population?
- Who will bear the economic burden of an ageing population?
- Does ageing lead to greaterinequality in income and health?
Panellists: Naohiro Ogawa, Daniel McFadden, David Bloom, Eric Maskin and Johanna Wallenius as moderator
Questions/Topics:
How can we get older workers to remain employed longer?
Is immigration a solution to an ageing population?
Will women work more when they have fewer children?
Panellists: Daniel McFadden, Sarah Harper, David Bloom, Eric Maskin, Andrew Oswald and Johanna Wallenius as moderator
Eric Kandel and Jeff Koons in conversation moderated by Zeinab Badawi
Panellists: Elizabeth Blackburn, Eric Maskin, Daniel McFadden, Aaron Ciechanover, Craig Mello, Eric Kandel and Adam Smith as moderator