Dialogues on the Future of Ageing

Spain has managed to achieve one of the greatest aspirations of any country: to increase the life expectancy of its citizens to levels unprecedented in history. This has brought with it a strong ageing of our demographic pyramid, which is expected to worsen over the coming decades. The fact that the Spanish population is living longer is an enormous source of opportunities, but also a challenge for our Welfare State. What will our pensions be like in 2050? What can we do to retain the older population who want to continue working? How can we promote active ageing? What do we need to improve the intergenerational cohesion of our society?

All this and more will be the subject of this event, organised at the initiative of the Spanish Government, the European Commission, the European Parliament and 70 other public institutions (city councils, foundations, regional governments and universities), which can be followed in person or online.

Programme

Monday, 25th October

09:00h Opening session: The Future we will be.

• Miguel Ángel Escotet, President of Afundación
• Xosé Antonio Sánchez Bugallo, Mayor of Santiago de Compostela
• Diego Canga Fano, Senior Advisor, DG Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the European Commission
• Alberto Núñez Feijóo, President of the Galician Government
• Yolanda Díaz, Second Vice-President and Minister of Labour and Social Economy

10:15h Roundtable 1: Longevity in Spain: Blessing and Challenge? Moderator: José Luis Gómez, Journalist and editor of Mundiario.com

• Dolores Puga, Scientist, CSIC
• Ángel de la Fuente, Executive Director of FEDEA
• Lourdes Bermejo, Vice-president of Gerontology of the Spanish Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology (SEGG)

11:15am Coffee break

11:45h Roundtable 2: What will pensions be like in 2050? Moderator : Ana Bedia, Director of 65ymas.com 

• Diego Valero Carreras, Professor at the University of Barcelona and president of Novaster
• Cristina Estévez Navarro, Secretary for Institutional Policy and Territorial Policies, UGT
• Elisa Chuliá, Director of Social Studies, FUNCAS

12:45h Panel 3: How do we ensure that the labour market does not expel older workers? Moderator: Fernanda Tabarés, Director of Voz Audiovisual.

• Yolanda Díaz, Second Vice-President and Minister of Labour and Social Economy
• Pilar González de Frutos, President of UNESPA   
• José Antonio Herce, Chairman of the Board of Experts of the BBVA Pension Institute
• María Cadaval, Professor of Economics at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC)

13:45h Lunch break

16:00h Panel 4: How to promote active ageing. Moderator: David Facal, Professor of Psychology at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC).

• Sabela Couceiro, Coordinator of the active ageing area of Afundación.
• Astrid Dentler, Member of the Cabinet of the Vice-President of the European Commission Dubravka Šuica (Democracy and Demography)
• Luis Barriga, President of Imserso

17:00h Citizens' workshop: What would you like to be when you grow up? Facilitator: Josefa Ros Velasco, Researcher at the Complutense University of Madrid and creator of the first Society for Boredom Studies. Open to all citizens who wish to participate. It is necessary to register in advance here. It is also possible to participate virtually through this link.

18:30h End of the first day

Tuesday, 26th October

10:00h Roundtable 5: What opportunities does the Silver Economy offer?

• Rocío Mosquera, President of Clúster da Saúde de Galicia
• Juan Fernández Palacios, Director of the Ageingnomics Research Centre of Fundación Mapfre
• Juan Carlos Alcaide Casado, CEO of The Silver Economy Company

11:00h Citizen's workshop: What would you ask your town or city to age well? Facilitator: Isabel Cartón, Project Coordinator of Asociación Jubilares. Open to all citizens who wish to participate. You must register in advance here. It is also possible to participate virtually through this link.

12:00h Coffee break

12:30h Round table 6: How to promote intergenerational cohesion in our society. Moderator: Rita Penedo, Delegate of Europa Press in Galicia.

• Fabiola García Martínez, Councillor for Social Policy of the Galician Regional Government
• Elena del Barrio, Co-Director of Matia Gerontological Institute
• Javier Yanguas Lezáun, Scientific Director of the Elderly Programme at "la Caixa" Foundation

13:30h Closing session: Speech by the Mayor of Santiago, Xosé Antonio Sánchez Bugallo; and the Director of the National Office of Prospective and Strategy, Diego Rubio.