As the World Ages, New Thinking Emerges from Osaka and Cannes, to Helsinki
By Michael Hodin
When the Cannes Lions Advertising Awards and the leaders of the G20 start having the same conversation, you know you’ve hit the global agenda. It’s not often that the creative class and the governing class agree on what’s hot, but sure enough, here we are.
Just last month, the G20 Summit in Osaka officially recognized aging as a global megatrend for the first time in its history, and “The 50+ Goldmine” was one of the hottest panels at Cannes Lions 2019: “Creativity means seeing the world differently — and now, seeing the $15 trillion global business opportunity presented by the world’s aging population. Consumers 50+ control 70% of U.S. disposable income and 79% in the UK. Fueled by data, insights and the courage to disrupt our profession, some marketers are getting the aging story right — and as a result, are poised for booming growth.” We know this is true elsewhere as well, including in America, surely Japan, and across Europe and the OECD countries.
And getting the aging story right is exactly why 600+ elite government and business leaders are gathering in Helsinki this week for the first ever High-Level Forum on the Silver Economy. Hosted by the Global Coalition on Aging and the Government of Finland, the Silver Economy Forum is bringing together prime ministers and ministers of health, finance, economy, trade, and social services with CEOs and senior business leaders to discuss how the 21st century megatrend of aging is redefining our societies, creating new challenges and exciting opportunities.
What’s your aging strategy?
If you’re a business, what’s you’re aging strategy?; for governments, are you seriously working on reforms from pension to work/retirement norms to healthcare and education; and for all of us, how are we thinking and acting differently?
The unprecedented aging of societies that we’re currently experiencing — at different rates, but on a global scale — will take collaboration and planning on a global scale for us to fully realize its potential. The business experts, heads of government, thought leaders, and so many others convening in Helsinki next week are defining new ways of thinking about aging — as a market opportunity, as an underutilized source of productivity and creativity, as a driver of innovative policy, as a social imperative, and more.
Taking up the conversation from Osaka and Cannes, through to New York, Beijing, Helsinki, and Rio, the Silver Economy Forum will focus on how to prepare for and leverage the incredible opportunity for growth and innovation that lies within aging in all sectors, both private and public. The global silver economy is already valued at $15 trillion, and the European market comprises an estimated €3.7 trillion itself. With the global population of 1 billion adults over 60 set to double to 2 billion by mid-century, healthcare and public systems will come under critical strain, unless…we act differently. But this moment is creating an important opportunity for governments to reimagine their policies in alignment with this new demographic reality.
And the timing of the Forum is, well, perfect. This year, in addition to the spotlight placed on aging by the G20 and Cannes Lions, the WHO is set to declare the years 2021 to 2030 the Decade of Healthy Ageing at its 2020 World Health Assembly in May in Geneva, even as the OECD itself continues its programs on reimagining work for our 21st century.
What we are witnessing is the rapidly growing recognition of the influence that aging and longevity is having on the world, as well as a recognition that now is the time to capitalize on the unique and unprecedented opportunities it is bringing. The Silver Economy Forum leverages this incredible momentum, as we prepare to head into the Decade of Healthy Ageing.
Aging is an opportunity that cannot wait.
It is no coincidence that these exciting discussions will take place in Finland, either. Possibly no other country has recognized and responded to the profound implications that aging brings with it than Finland. In fact, the Silver Economy Forum is at the start of their EU Presidency, sending a clear and bold statement to the world: aging is an opportunity that cannot wait.
Gone are the days where older adults can be relegated to the fringes of our society or the marketplace; they now stand at the center of the most important conversation of the 21st century, where the Silver Economy Forum is itself a milestone to how we capture and celebrate our miracle of longevity, now upon us for the first time in the history of humanity.
