FutuRes researchers call for investments in accessible and continuous education
Researchers from the FutuRes Project along with other distinguished academics and policy makers shared their priorities in the midst of demographic change at the High-Level Experts Conference “Why Demography Matters. Population and Policy in the 21st Century” on the 3rd May 2024.
The event, hosted by Germany’s Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB) and Population Europe, took place online and was open to the public.
In the panel “Demography drives your future: From the European to national level”, FutuRes Project Principal Investigator, Arnstein Aassve, said “our research shows that investment in early education and continuous education throughout people’s lives is key to building resilience in societies.” He referenced the FutuRes research report on Resilience in Policy Design.
The speakers mentioned having policy approaches from different angles to ensure that societies thrive in the future. Besides education, tackling inequalities, including in living conditions for all forms of families, is an integral foundation of social cohesion and democracy. The importance of adopting nuanced views on life at older ages and better recognizing the investments of families were also key topics.
FutuRes work package leader Jakub Bijak, who spoke on the panel “The role of demography in evidence-informed policy making” called for societies and governments to “plan for short-term and long-term developments, while also being prepared for unforeseen events.” Besides having technical infrastructure and scientific advice available to help with this, discussion between sectors is essential for this.
You can find more details on the agenda and speakers, here: https://www.population-europe.eu/events/why-demography-matters-population-and-policy-21st-century
