January 26th, 2023
SOSU H, Cph.
Meaningful Longevity
Danish Design Center: Sara Gry Striegler and Anders Buur Aarhus Municipality: Ina Bøge Eskildsen
Charles Leadbeater: Senior Associate at System Innovation Initiative spoke about Ethic Society and Care Economy. Simon Lajboschitz, CEO at KHORA spoke about the transformative and digital potentials and challenges of the future.
Based on Aarhus Municipality's work with wicked problems, five future scenarios developed by DDC - Danish Design Center and an introduction to the concept of Care Ethics/Society, the Akademists jump between exploring demographic societal problems, the recruitment challenges of the care professions and a more general reflection on needs and hopes for a long and meaningful life.
The day started at the educational institution SOSU H, where social and health care assistants are educated. Here we were allowed to have a base for the day's work, which started with a presentation by Ina, Aarhus Municipality, who talked about Aarhus' work with Wicked Problems and the Aarhus Compass.
To open up the imagination, the Akademists were then taken on a sensory audio journey where they were presented with five future scenarios under the themes "Growth", "Chaos", "Transformation", "Discipline" and "Balance". We then visited the VR house KHORA, where the Akademists were introduced to the future potentials of digital transformation.
With an abstract future-oriented start to the day, we kicked off the second half of the day with the help of speaker Charles Leadbeater, who gave the Akademists a theoretical and philosophical insight into care ethics and care economy.
Or more interesting, what kind of life do we want to start and how can we maintain meaningfulness and a healthy relationship with society while juggling social responsibility and individual freedom? Who or what do I want to be for others besides our family members? Who needs me, my experiences and my continued curiosity? What is my role in society in my new phase of life?
How can the way we think and structure this part of life (both on an individual and a societal level) create a better future for the older generation and, among other things, dilute some of the fundamental challenges facing the welfare society? These questions set the framework for the last half of the day, where the Akademist set out to explore what and how a meaningful longevity looks like, what systems and relationships need to be worked with and where society needs to change in order to meet the conditions and needs of longevity.
The Academy's dialogue with Aarhus Municipality has continued after the Lab, and on the drawing board is a collaboration with the Danish Design Center and a group of Akademists to launch the new change initiative connected to a meaningful long life og mobilization for welfare.
How does a long life with meaning look like?
