What's Active Ageing

Research Institute of Science for the Better Living of the Elderly has been promoting Active Ageing throughout the world. The following is the introduction of the concept of Active Ageing. We sincerely hope it may help you understand the meaning and the core value of the concept, so that the Active Ageing can also spread in your community.

Active Aging

The ageing society has emerged as one of the most urgent issues in the 21st Century, increasingly becoming the important agenda for the world leaders to solve. Korea is not exempt from the worldwide mainstream, and it has exerted multi-faceted efforts to establish the regulations to prepare itself for the daunting challenge brought by the rapid ageing process. The main focus in dealing with the problems such as support, leisure, and medical aids for the elderly has primarily linked the problems with the elderly. Many countries have tried to resolve the elderly problems in social perspectives, holding the state or the institution solely responsible for tackling with what should be presumed as a more complex issue. The world slowly realized that the elderly problems cannot be resolved by one body alone, and that the task force should be based on the active attitude of the elderly themselves to aggressively resolve the problems.
Active Aging combines the concept of productive ageing and successful ageing, drawing the participation from the elderly to actively lead their old life. It does not concern with the Anti-Ageing concept, which represents physical wellbeing or body image, but the inclusive approach to empower the elderly to lead active old life, so that they can contribute to the society, not as a social burden, but social capital for their community and country. It also focuses on the age-friendly environment to help the elderly maintain their health and lead more convenient life by the technological benefit.
The detailed guideline was mentioned during the Third Active Aging Conference in Asia Pacific in Namhae, 2007, and the declaration of Namhae Active Ageing was adopted. Active Ageing has been superficially concerned with Anti-Ageing, but the concept proposed by the Active Ageing Network is to empower the elderly to maintain their psychological, physical, substantial, emotional, mental health. In summary, it encourages the elderly, who previously remained secluded or isolated from society, to continually participate in the society as an active member and social resource with rich experience and knowledge. It also helps them to maintain their physical wellbeing in local community, and offers the substantial environments so that the elderly can feel comfortable moving in the area. And it tries to build the age-friendly city which optimizes the quality of life for not only the elderly, but also the whole community. Finally, the emotional approach to change the society where the elderly is no longer abused or neglected, but encouraged to live healthy and active life with the spread of social filial piety, will be the key to promoting Active Ageing life.