Are We Prepared for Extended Lifespans?
Researchers will have just found out who is on the long list for the XPrize Healthspan $101m prize. [1]
The award will be given to a team who finds a way to dramatically rejuvenate muscles, cognition and immune functions by a desired 20 years for those aged 50 to 80.
It sounds ambitious. Not only that, the solution has to be market ready within a year of 2030!
Of course this is a very exciting project, but it does raise questions about whether there is the necessary social investment to support such a change in human life span.
A report just published ‘A Divided Kingdom’ from Intergenerational England highlights the marked separation between older and younger generations. [2]
This on top of reports on loneliness and the wider costs and related pressures of living in retirement/older age reflect just some of the social challenges.
However there is also another question - are our lives meaningful? Relationships are a big part of creating meaning in our lives - this sits alongside a sense that:
I have VALUE - purpose in who I am
I have a VOICE - that is heard and respected
I have a VISION - I can contribute, alongside others, to shaping my community
Learning is not just about knowledge acquisition and retention - it is about connecting with competencies that allow us to know who we are. It is from this foundation that we can direct our own journeys of purpose and meaning.
If we are going to be living longer, we need equal investment in the social infrastructure that allows us to find and hold on to that sense of meaning - to achieve this we need a sea change in the way we think about learning and the learner.
[Article references]
$101m longevity research prize aims to ‘shatter the limits’ on ageing from The Guardian
A Divided Kingdom from Intergenerational England
