NZCCSS - for immediate release - Thursday 29 March
Professor Simon Biggs Re-Frames Debate on Ageing Population
Professor Simon Biggs, a member of the Global Agenda Council on Ageing Societies, is the opening speaker for the NZ
Services for Older People conference being held over two days in Wellington, starting today, on the topic of reframing
the debate about our ageing population.
Earlier this year Professor Biggs co-authored several essays in a landmark publication on global ageing issues, titled
"Global Population Ageing: Peril or Promise?" (see links below). This publication consists of 22 essays, divided into
four themes: setting the scene, investing in ourselves, pursuing healthy ageing and redesigning our environment. The
central theme that emerges is the increasingly urgent need to adapt to population ageing, identify and take advantage of
the opportunities it offers, and find ways to unlock the human capital resources that population ageing and our longer
lives make available.
Global Agenda Councils were first created by the independent World Economic Forum in 2008 to study the foremost topics
in the global arena. The network of Councils are comprised of 15-20 invitation-only members each, who serve as an
advisory board to the Forum and other interested parties, such as governments and international organizations. Each
council is an an amalgamation of scientists, public policy makers, academics, physicians and business leaders. Currently
more than 50 issues have been identified against which the Councils monitor key trends, identify global risks, map
interrelationships and address knowledge gaps. Equally important, Councils also put forward ideas and recommendations to
address global challenges.
ENDS
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