Providing better ambulances at the bottom of the cliff instead of fences at the top is ahalf-baked and wasteful endeavour for policy makers and practitioners alike; it resembles thecartoon world of Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, not a blueprint for a complex, integratedand functional society. Nowhere along the life-course is the futility of such practices moreapparent than in the third and fourth ages. This reection piece, therefore, is concerned withthe means by which, with older people in the lead, families, communities and agencies can
co-create better fences before the precipice, and ensure that a good life is nurtured wellbefore people reach the edge. To ensure people may age well and age their own way, anapproach that focuses on identifying the wide range of assets that could be used to support anolder person is more fruitful than current approaches, exclusively concerned as they are, withthe needs and deciencies of an increasingly ageing population.

Ageing well, across the life-course, in ones place, in a way that feels productive, surroundedby family, friends and neighbours, is everyones business and is worthy of greater attention
than is currently being afforded this simple, powerful ambition.

The central crisis of modernwelfare states is our neglect of the task of building hospitable, competent communitieswhere young and old can age well and contribute their talents, skills and knowledge, whilereceiving the contributions of others in kind. Software gentle, intelligent, human power is needed, not the hardware of machinery and ambulances.

In policy terms, we are spending too much time seeking hardware answers to questions at
the bottom of the cliff. Two more pertinent software top of the cliff questions which should
concern us are:
1. What are citizens uniquely competent to do to lead an ageing-well agenda?
2. How can agencies/institutions support such citizen-led action?

There are ten domains within which senior citizens are uniquely competent, and if civic agency
is not exercised in these domains then there is no viable, service-based alternative,
regardless of how well resourced such services may be. No matter how many AcmeCompany solutions the coyote employs, he is always undone by the cunning and agility of
the road runner. Similarly ageing well and dying with dignity require more than services andscal investment. They require the special capabilities of individuals and their communities
their cunning.

The ten domains are health, safety, care for the environment, safe food production andconsumption, local economic development, raising young people, building strong
communities, civic action towards deeper democracy and a more just society, responseto emergencies and co-producing knowledge. A consideration of ageing well, using these
domains, is instructive in broadening the narrative about what we need to age well.

To read the rest of the paper by Cormac Russell clickOlder%20People%27s%20article%20%28C%20Russell%29.pdf

Providing better ambulances at the bottom of the cliff instead of fences at the top is ahalf-baked and wasteful endeavour for policy makers and practitioners alike; it resembles thecartoon world of Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, not a blueprint for a complex, integratedand functional society. Nowhere along the life-course is the futility of such practices moreapparent than in the third and fourth ages. This reection piece, therefore, is concerned withthe means by which, with older people in the lead, families, communities and agencies can
co-create better fences before the precipice, and ensure that a good life is nurtured wellbefore people reach the edge. To ensure people may age well and age their own way, anapproach that focuses on identifying the wide range of assets that could be used to support anolder person is more fruitful than current approaches, exclusively concerned as they are, withthe needs and deciencies of an increasingly ageing population.

Ageing well, across the life-course, in ones place, in a way that feels productive, surroundedby family, friends and neighbours, is everyones business and is worthy of greater attention
than is currently being afforded this simple, powerful ambition.

The central crisis of modernwelfare states is our neglect of the task of building hospitable, competent communitieswhere young and old can age well and contribute their talents, skills and knowledge, whilereceiving the contributions of others in kind. Software gentle, intelligent, human power is needed, not the hardware of machinery and ambulances.

In policy terms, we are spending too much time seeking hardware answers to questions at
the bottom of the cliff. Two more pertinent software top of the cliff questions which should
concern us are:
1. What are citizens uniquely competent to do to lead an ageing-well agenda?
2. How can agencies/institutions support such citizen-led action?

There are ten domains within which senior citizens are uniquely competent, and if civic agency
is not exercised in these domains then there is no viable, service-based alternative,
regardless of how well resourced such services may be. No matter how many AcmeCompany solutions the coyote employs, he is always undone by the cunning and agility of
the road runner. Similarly ageing well and dying with dignity require more than services andscal investment. They require the special capabilities of individuals and their communities
their cunning.

The ten domains are health, safety, care for the environment, safe food production andconsumption, local economic development, raising young people, building strong
communities, civic action towards deeper democracy and a more just society, responseto emergencies and co-producing knowledge. A consideration of ageing well, using these
domains, is instructive in broadening the narrative about what we need to age well.

To read the rest of the paper by Cormac Russell click

Older%20People%27s%20article%20%28C%20Russell%29.pdf