Ageing can be a cause of
anxiety and even a serious threat to society. If, however, the threat can be
turned into an opportunity, it will be more than a blessing. And I am delighted
to have learned from a recent TV program called “銀齡設計@台灣”
how Taiwan is blessed this way.
In Taiwan 11% of the
population is above the age of 65, lower than Hong Kong’s 15%.
However, by 2005,
Taiwan’s ageing population is expected to be 20%, ranking among what the WHO
defines as a “Super Ageing Society”. To welcome this ageing population, Taiwan is
resorting to designs, ranging from designs for seniors’ products, to designs
for daily life and for society.
Taiwanese who are
gradually approaching old age were among the postwar baby boomers; the majority
are educated and materially well provided, thus having certain expectations about
life. Therefore, the local government does not see the ageing population as a
threat. On the contrary, they are ready to turn it into an opportunity for
the aged to enjoy consumption of goods and services, thus leading to an economic
take-off.
To enable the youth to
have close contact with the seniors, Taiwan University has established the ‘Age
of Wisdom Association’, focusing on concern for the aged, establishing interdisciplinary
colleges and interdisciplinary curriculum.
Professor Kong She
Jong, coordinator of the ‘Age of Wisdom Association’, had himself been a
student of civil engineering. He thinks that it is important to integrate the
important elements of the designs for the seniors into the minds of students of
various academic fields to enable them to establish an ideal dwelling place for
the aged.
One attraction of the
course is that the university and a care centre for the aged will jointly
establish a daily life laboratory. There students can have the opportunity to
communicate with the seniors, who can also try their designs : chairs for
seniors when putting on the shoes, hanging walking sticks, TOUCH GAMEs, etc.
In 2010, all counties
in Taiwan advocated the “Senior Friendly Project” initiated by the WHO: flattening
and smoothening the roads, purchasing low-platform buses, providing more
leisure seats on roadsides; encouraging both state-run and private eateries and
shops to join the “Senior Friendly Station”, where the seniors to go in for
a rest, a drink and for the use of the washroom.
Chan Hui Chee, Ex-Associate
Professor, Department of Nursing at Fu Jen Catholic University, who is enjoying
her retirement, said, “Ageing is a natural process, but we must find out how we
can enjoy greater convenience of the external environment and the products we
are using without feeling being socially excluded and how we can enable
ourselves to live very well. ”
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