Grand Challenges Symposium 2015: Demographic Change and Longevity held at Kyoto University (8-9 December 2015)

The Grand Challenges Symposium 2015: Demographic Change and Longevity was held at Kyoto University on 8–9 December 2015. The symposium, which drew over 80 participants, was held in collaboration between Kyoto University, University College London (UCL), Osaka University, Tohoku University, and the Tokyo Institute of Technology.

The first day of the symposium opened with an address by Dr Juichi Yamagiwa, president of Kyoto University, which was followed by an explanation of the symposium's objectives by Prof Nick Tyler, chair of the steering committee for UCL's Grand Challenge initiative on the topic of "Human Wellbeing". A keynote lecture titled "The Social and Economic Risks of Longevity, Labor Force Participation, and Lower Fertility" was delivered by Prof Shuzo Nishimura, director general of the Institute for Health Economics and Policy and professor emeritus of Kyoto University. In his lecture, Prof Nishimura described the complex challenges currently faced by Japan's aging society.

After the keynote lecture, a series of plenary sessions were held under the three themes of "Employment and Economy in an Ageing Society: Older Adults as a Societal Resource", "Health & Wellbeing of Older Adults", and "Youth and Intergenerational Equity in Ageing Societies: The Future for Ageing Society". The sessions featured research presentations by representatives from the participating universities followed by lively discussions.

The second day of the symposium included discussion sessions that built on the conclusions of the previous day to explore possibilities for international research collaboration among the five participating universities, and an agenda to establish a research network was developed. At the end of the sessions, Prof Ian Scott, principal facilitator of the UCL Grand Challenges initiative, summarized the results of the two-day symposium, and plans were made to hold a follow-up meeting. The event was then brought to a close with an address by Prof Kayo Inaba, Kyoto University's executive vice-president for gender equality, international affairs, and public relations.

Related link

• Grand Challenges Symposium 2015: Demographic Change and Longevity
  http://www.oc.kyoto-u.ac.jp/symposium/gcs2015/en/