FutuRes

> Theme: human rights – non-discrimination – demography

> Timeline: 2023 – 2026

> Keywords: resilience

Purpose

The EU-funded project “FutuRes – Towards a Resilient Future of Europe” will work to get a better understanding of what resilience of and for older persons means from a life-course perspective and human rights-based approach.

Resilience should contribute to empower older people as rights holders.

A focus on resilience means that policies are thought of in terms of proactive planning, adaptability, flexibility and, where possible, prevention, rather than post-hoc solutions to challenges related to the ageing of the population. This project will establish how policies could improve so that individuals of all ages can become better prepared for crises and unexpected shocks whether be it at an individual level (e.g., unexpected exposure to unemployment, illness, or loneliness) or at societal level (e.g., inflation, mass migration, or natural catastrophes). Those policies should integrate a human rights dimension (equality and non-discrimination), including a strong gender dimension.

Expected outcomes

• Conceptualise the meaning of resilience for population ageing from a life course perspective.
• Map out the pervasiveness of ageing, its cultural roots and geographical variation, and to clarify its role in terms of European labour market discrimination.
• Review the policy realm of population ageing in the EU contrasting it with a life course perspective.
• Assess, in the context of ageing societies, the role of fertility and childbearing decisions for a resilient life-course.
• Establish the extent to which migration acts as a mitigating factor ameliorating demographic changes.
• Establish the role resilience plays for individuals’ entire life-course.
• Build a framework for scenario analysis for the future of European population ageing.
• Establish a FutuRes Policy Lab, a collaborative, transdisciplinary platform for knowledge exchange and dialogue, where different stakeholders (from the sectors of research, policy, business and civil society) will be able to engage with the project and work closely together to elaborate evidence-informed solutions.

Partners

• Bocconi University, Italy (coordinator of the project)
• Population Europe, Germany
• Warsaw School of Economics, Poland
• University of Southampton, England
• Technische Universität Wien, Austria
• Vaestoliitto, Finland
• VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH, Germany

AGE involvement

Part of AGE’s role will be to implement a human rights-based approach in the project. AGE will also support partners in exploring issues around resilience, ageism, fertility and life-course resilience, migration, and the ageing process as a dynamic general equilibrium model. Finally, AGE will help in the dissemination and organisation of final event that will take place in Brussels.

Useful links

• Website of FutuRes
• Follow FutuRes on Twitter