Lidia Koziel
Vintage Trains Charitable Trust, UK
Through a combination of declining birth rates and increased life expectancy, societies are aging. There is no doubt that this brings with it many challenges in terms of health and social care. However, while many societies continue to focus on the potential problems and costs of caring for their old people, they have a valuable role to play in social and cultural life and, in particular, helping younger generations better understand the world, appreciate its heritage and culture and become better citizens. These are lessons that are often not communicated through formal school education, but rather through processes of learning outside the classroom.
This presentation reports on a project carried out in the European Union to examine the role of senior citizens in the interpretation of cultural heritage sites. The project looked at people over the age of 55 and their role as active citizens who can often influence the opinions of others. The project looked at the ways in which informal learning benefitted seniors, but also considered how these seniors could provide benefit to the wider community. Heritage was found to play a central role in stimulating interaction across and between different cultures and generations.
While this project was drawn from European examples, it has relevance to Asian societies where there are issues surrounding aging populations, particularly in rural areas that have suffered from outward migration. There are still tremendous opportunities through informal learning to mobilise the talents and experience of senior citizens so that they are recognised for what they can bring to social and cultural life, the local economy and a better understanding of the world for younger generations.
(Presented in the 2018 Chulalongkorn Asian Heritage Forum : Culture of Longevity, 15-16 August 2018, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Institute of Thai Studies, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Population Studies, Chulalongkorn University)