Reflection Paper On Ageing

Professor Alfred Chan, our Keynote Speaker, our Distinguished Speakers, Members of the School Advisory Committees, Esteemed Guests, Colleagues and Students.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome all of you to the engAGE Ageing Symposium 2016. On behalf of the organizing committee, we want to thank you for taking time to attend this symposium.

Overview of symposium

Over the last 2 days, we had our inaugural Seniors’ Week event comprising a host of activities, workshops and talks related to active and successful ageing. This symposium is the finale of Seniors’ Week 2016 and brings it to a befitting close. The theme for this symposium is Transforming Ageing: Enrich, Engage, Empower and this resonates well with the national action plan for

So the question is as we live longer what can we do to age well and successfully.

Today, we have a panel of distinguished speakers who will share their thoughts and ideas on the theme of transforming ageing.

In a short while we will hear our keynote speaker Professor Alfred Chan present his study and findings on the state of Ageism in Hong Kong. The question we want to ask is how much does ageism exist here in our workplaces that unwittingly undermine or devalue older workers. Can we continue to empower our older workers to be valued contributors to the organization and as an engine for our national development?

Dr. Cheok and Ms Chua will enriched us with their thoughts on the science of successful ageing and the use of the arts for seniors respectively. As we age, we should continue to enjoy enriching experiences so that we can continue to grow and remain active.

To help seniors stay engaged, we have Prof. Thang to shed light on intergenerational approaches in ageing, and Dr. Guan on the use of smart technologies and solutions towards ageing in

We work closely with the various schools in TP together with our partners on projects to better understand the ageing issues that could lead to innovative ideas and solutions to address the issues in the larger context of ageing in our society.
Conclusion

I am sure many would have heard the term ‘Silver Tsunami’ to describe the ageing population. I am personally not comfortable with the term ‘Silver Tsunami’ as it has a rather negative connotation of gloominess and hopelessness. I prefer to see it as the ‘Silver Pipeline’ ready for us to ride the wave of possibilities. I am not a surfer, but I know that the ‘Pipeline’ is a wave found in Hawaii that every surfer dreams of riding. So challenges aside, we should see opportunities and the possibilities in our current demographic transition of an ageing population and ride that ‘Pipeline’.

No one is spared from growing old, unless you know of someone out there who has discover a magic youth portion that keeps you perpetually young, we all grow old (it just how well we grow old). Actually ageing begins on the day you were born so let us embrace it (ageing)