This book calls for changes in public policies on ageing in an increasingly ageing society

The 1stInternational Congress on Public Policies on Ageing held in 2022 was organised by RosaRoig, ÁngelesTortosa and JoséM.Pavía, professors at the Department of Applied Economics, together with some foreign universities, such as the Federal University of Viçosa, the Universidade da Amazônia (Brazil) and the MinasGerais State University, among others.

After the presentation of the book, hosted by RosaRoig and CarmenPineda, researcher at the GEGOP UFV, a debate was held. It was moderated by GustavoZaragoza, professor of Social Work at the Universitat de València and director of EVES.

The debate was attended by GerdtSundström, professor emeritus of the JönköpingUniversity in Sweden; PriscilaVega, professor at the Autonomous University of NuevoLeón in Mexico; ÁngelesTortosa, professor at the Universitat de València; as well as SilviaM.M.Costa and CarmenPineda, researchers of the GEGOP (Federal University of Viçosa). The role of public administration in ageing societies was addressed from different perspectives, focusing on the diversity of the group of people aged 65 and over, the social differences within this group, the public health system, the digital divide among elders and structural ageism, among other issues.

In this book, IvánBeck calls for reflection on the elderly as a subject of social learning and on dialogue as a fundamental form of action for this learning process. Meanwhile, RosaRoig and CarmenPineda propose, in view of the transformation of the demographic structure of our societies, the need for a new approach from the public administration in order to meet the demands of the ever-growing group of elderly people. “To respond to the needs of an increasingly ageing society, it is necessary to call for the paradigm of ageing transversality in public management,” they stated.

Salinas and Esteban refer in their chapter to one of the greatest challenges that Western society will face in the coming years, the ageing of people with disabilities. While a few years ago the life expectancy and quality of life of people with disabilities led to premature death, the evolution of treatment and care in recent decades has favoured their life expectancy, which has been considerably extended.

The chapter by Alencar, Azevedo, Pineda and DosSantos presents research on ageing in traditional Brazilian populations (indigenous, quilombos, riberinhos, etc.). This subject has been little researched and analysed, hence the importance of this work, which allows for an in-depth study of the relationship between ageing in quilombos, identity and community.

NuriaBlaya and ÁngelOrtiz show an example from the Universitat dels Majors, a university of the third age, and what it means for the community of adult students from the Metropolitan Area of Valencia. The main objective of this university is to increase the well-being and quality of life of elderly students.

The following chapters are comparative research. The chapter byMaríaÁngelesTortosa and GerdtSundström deals with the coexistence between families, the State, companies and NGOs in two countries: Spain and Sweden. Meanwhile, CarmenPineda analyses the violence against the elderly in Brazil and Spain, which is a silenced issue.