In 2024, the World Economic Forum (WEF) issued an insight report into how the world’s ageing population impacts global economic health. In the report, the WEF highlighted six principles to address the challenges of ageing populations, including how to change how we view ageing. One of these principles stood out to me as strongly relating to the work we do as a charity supporting older people - Principle 5: Design systems and environments for social connection and purpose Social connection is integral to healthy longevity. The report goes on to say: ‘Socially isolated older adults have a higher risk of poor health and earlier death. Intentional design of systems and environments for social connection can mitigate these impacts.’  

In the UK, people are thankfully living longer, but as many of us understand through personal experience, our family and friends are not necessarily living well into older age. As the WEF report states, as a society we should focus on creating systems and building communities that offer opportunities for genuine social connection for older people – and this really is at the heart of what Re-engage has done for 60 years. Our volunteers are the architects of connected, cohesive communities where people support one another, often for mutual benefit. Whether it’s at a social gathering like a tea party or an activity group, during a chat as a Call Companion, or taking part in an online interaction, we’re addressing the need for humans to connect, converse and create communities for collective benefit. The overarching impact of each individual act - whether it’s a phone call, a donation, driving an older person to a monthly social gathering or a fundraising adventure - goes a significant way to helping us tackling loneliness and isolation in later life. 

Hearing about older people achieving incredible things shines a light on the importance of living well in later life. Recently, I was interested to hear about 91-year-old John Rogers from Staffordshire, who dedicates his time to keeping his local community tidy, and further afield,102-year-old Kokichi Akuzawa from Japan who has become the oldest person to climb Mount Fuji. Of course, not everyone is in a position to take on such exciting adventures, but it does go to show what’s possible when good health and mobility, along with support networks and communities, are maintained in later years.  

Finally, I’ll be settling down to watch the latest big and small screen hit The Thursday Night Murder Club, which features a group of senior super sleuths who create their own crime-solving community in their care home. With a stellar cast including Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Celia Imrie and Ben Kingsley, the adaptation of Richard Osman’s bestseller looks to depict older people in a positive light, something we are very much in favour of here at Re-engage.