Keeping fit and feeling well into the post-retirement years is a hot topic these days. Nearly 10 percent of the world’s population is 65 or older, according to the United Nations, and that is projected to rise to 16 percent – or one in six people – by 2050. So as we are living longer, how do we stay vital and energetic? How do we continue to contribute meaningfully to the community? And how do we keep our minds sharp? Those are just some of the issues experts will address at the Oct. 1 global panel discussion entitled, “Healthy Aging.”
Co-sponsored by UBC Emeritus College and the European Association of Professors Emeriti (EAPE), an Athens, Greece-based organization, the session spotlights the UN’s “Decade of Healthy Ageing” (2021-2030) and International Day of Older Persons on Oct. 1. It also marks the first international collaboration for Emeritus College, started in 2018 as a resource supporting UBC faculty and senior academic administrators in the transition to retirement through academic work, mentoring, research and publishing.
UBC president's reception for new emeriti on September 30 (photo: Paul H. Joseph / UBC Brand & Marketing)
Two Emeritus Professor speakers each from UBC and EAPE will speak, followed by a panel discussion. Professor Luigi Campanella, a prominent chemist from Sapienza University of Rome, and Associate Professor Emeritus and Vice-president-elect of the UBC Emeritus College Anne Junker, an MD and rare diseases clinician in immune deficiency disorders, are moderating the panel, which features UBC’s Dr. Judith Hall and Dr. John Helliwell.
Canadian Medical Hall of Famer Dr. Hall, OC, MD, DSC, FRSC and FCAHS, will draw from her research to explore the topic: Do emeriti have the opportunity for a new stage in their academic career? UBC Emeritus Professor of Economics Dr. Helliwell, OC, FRSC, and co-editor of the World Happiness Reports, will speak about key supports for happy, healthy aging.
From EAPE, Hannover, Germany’s distinguished pediatrician Emeritus Professor Jochen Ehrich, MD, DCMT (London), will delve into “the needs and wants of children and elderly people concerning healthy aging,” contending that preventative measures have to start early in life to allow for healthy aging, while EAPE President-elect and Emeritus Professor Sir Les Ebdon will explain the value of adult education as it relates to health. With titles including CBE, DL, DSc, DUniv, CChem and FRSC, Dr. Ebdon is an award-winning analytical chemistry researcher and senior educator. For his contribution to education and social mobility, he was knighted by Her Majesty the Queen in 2018.
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