We do research into the phenomena of an aging world.
The world is changing rapidly into a world with old people. In 2050 the world will know 25% of people older than 60, also having a live expectancy of 85. The number of new born children is diminishing day by day.
To get older is seen as a fortunate circumstance in many societies, and even as a goal in itself. To actually be old clearly is perceived very differently. To be old in many societies means a disaster, you are in danger of being lonely, poor, sick and no longer part of society. We have long wondered how this change of life, a seemingly change of value of your life comes to be.
To answer that question we started doing research in several countries, including Brazil, The Netherlands, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Uruguay and Cambodia.
Very soon after starting this project we encountered the strong believes people in different societies have about the way it should be. As it is unbelievable in The Netherlands that elderly with Alzheimer disease are living as beggars on the streets of Bangladesh, it is unbelievable for Cambodian families that in The Netherlands elderly live apart from their family, and are taken care of by the state.
We create and develop new concepts and arrangements to address this changing world.
The last years we have spend doing fieldwork in these countries, and working in the field of health care as consultants, getting to know the area of being old, needing care and the way care is organised better and better.
This in itself raises enough questions and possibilities for dialogue, and that dialogue becomes more urgent daily, as the world population is getting older in general, and health care systems as in The Netherlands are no longer sustainable as they were in better economic times.
We do events, make documentaries and write books to raise awareness.
With the stories, information, documentaries, photos of the people we worked with, we start a dialogue in other countries, exploring possibilities for different solutions for getting older, keeping your value and dignity as much as possible.
What we want to do with this website is just show elderly and the way they live. To put the spotlight on people who tend to disappear slowly. What we want to be is a platform for people who want to contribute to a life for elderly around the world, where they are living together with others, still contributing what they can, with proper care and means to stay alive. Aren’t we all getting older after all?
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