The older population aged 60 years and over in ASEAN is projected to increase from 59.5 million in 2015 to 127 million in 2035, presenting immense opportunities and challenges with profound implications on all levels of society in the region. Ageing at lower levels of development, many ASEAN countries have less time to respond to the rapidly changing age structure of their population. The proportion of older persons aged 60 years or over in the South-eastern Asian region has reached 9.4% in 2015 and is expected to hit 15.1% by 2030.
Malaysia’s Chairmanship of ASEAN 2015 is based on the theme "Our People, Our Community, Our Vision." and among the proposed deliverables is an ASEAN Declaration on Ageing. In line with past initiatives such as the ASEAN Consortium of Social Welfare Practitioners, Educators and Schools of Social Work (Manila, 2008) and the ASEAN Consortium on Department of Economics Conference (2012), the Institute of Gerontology (IG), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) is proposing a Regional Expert Forum on Ageing and Development in Kuala Lumpur to provide the foundation towards the establishment of an ASEAN Consortium for Research on Ageing (ACFRA), with the support of the ASEAN Secretariat, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA),and the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, Malaysia (MWFCD).
The theme of REFAD2015 is “An ASEAN Consortium for Research on Ageing: Improving Wellbeing in Later Life in Southeast Asia”. The event was held from 14th to 15th September 2015 (two days) at Lanai Kijang, 2, Jalan Berjasa, Bank Negara Malaysia, 50480 Kuala Lumpur.
A cross-section of experts in the field of gerontology and geriatrics, as well as other disciplines and sub-specialization such as gerontechnology, social gerontology, psychogeriatrics, gerodontology, social security and population ageing are joined the event.
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