#rp20 Call for Participation: Topic “The Golden Age”

The #rp20 topic "The Golden Age" explores the challenges and opportunities of ageing societies. The most important and scarcest resource is the time available to each of us. Only through their perceptible and visible signs do we come under pressure to "live every day like it’s the last"—or at least to work through our to-dos. The range in which this is possible has widened almost unnoticed: Those born today have good chances of living through, experiencing and surviving an entire century. Real Methuselahs, then. Unfortunately, we don't seem to have become wiser as a result—and “live in the moment” rather than plan ahead.

After the last frontier to the West has been crossed long ago we find its manifestation in Silicon Valley and Far East, where longevity laboratories are now looking for lifestyle, biotech, genetic engineering and technological solutions for the next insurmountable hurdle: Cell ageing and death.

The (big technical) systems, societies and beliefs we have been building on seem to be in urgent need of maintenance. For no one seems to have expected ageing. It would be so nice to see the great-great-great-grandchildren growing up. And to work a little longer is certainly not unwise and so the retirement age will be raised again. On the other hand, our children (and their children) will have a hard enough time shouldering their own retirements without taking care of you. Politics get ugly; some people think that the solution to the debt crisis is to cut social and health insurance for all over 85 years. What if it really turns out that way? Are the seniors calling for protest—Seniors for Future, so to speak?

With "The Golden Age" we want to draw attention to temporalities, their challenges and opportunities. What do we do with the surplus of capacities? How do we integrate older people into arts and cultural production? The urban infrastructure is proving to be extremely inadequate for the needs of a growing generation of older people. Is this peer group included in all those modern mobility measures? And how do you design technology that meets the needs of seniors?

We are not afraid of old age, but rather draw a multifaceted picture of the aspects that need to be shaped: Lifelong learning, curiosity, access to and participation in economies, trends in education, art and culture and support technologies.
The future we will get depends on the choices we make today.

The countdown is on: Until 15 December 2019, 23:59 (CET), you can submit talks, discussions, workshops or off-stage actions to the Call for Participation (CfP) and become a part of re:publica 20. We’re looking forward to your ideas!
More information about the CfP can be found here.