The Age-it program dedicated to research on aging issues was launched today, presented today at the University of Florence, which is the national coordinating centre. Age-it is one of the 14 extended partnerships, investment lines envisaged by the Ministry of University and Research within the National Recovery and Resilience Plan Pnrrand creates a public-private alliance to face the challenge of an inexorably aging society.
In 2050, there will be 7 million and 600 thousand people aged over eighty in Italy, three million more than now. Low birth rate and longevityfor women more extensive but less healthy than for men, are two factors that make our country an interesting case study, which could provide indications to the many countries in the world that have been recording these dynamics for some time since heavy economic impact, in terms of financing the welfare and pension system, and social and environmental sustainability.
Study how our society is evolving and design the possible lines of intervention, from all points of view, social, economic, biomedical and technologicalis the objective of Age-it which will be able to count on funding of over 114 million euros and 350 researchers, for a total of twenty-seven centers including universities, research centers, industries, bodies and organisations.
The research will concern many different areas, from biology to environmental factors, from work in old age to cultural factors, organized into ten working groups, «with the aim of providing answers on the basis of scientific evidence and knowledge development forecasts . We will be working to find the best technological, social, medical-welfare and policy solutions for the well-being of a society where the balance between generations is radically changing» he underlined Daniele Vignoli demographer at the University of Florence and scientific coordinator of Age-it, already winner of a grant from the European Research Council dedicated to Economic uncertainty and fertility in Europe. «Ours» we read on the project website «will be research conducted with the utmost respect for gender equality: we have 50% male and 50% female researchers, and half of our spoke and work package coordinators are women ». Given this, nothing at all evident about the presentation meeting, where there is only one speaker out of 17.
Per the rector of the Florentine University Alessandra Petrucci«Age-it places Italy at the center of national and international research on the topic of aging (and its challenges) across the entire lifespan and addressed in its various social, health and demographic dimensions».
Photo by leah hetteberg on Unsplash
Photos of the speakers at the Age-it presentation meeting