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In mid-June, we (finally!) got together to reflect on our first four years of CoE AgeCare, and plan for the future: we had our Midterm Congress in Tampere. After a few moments of hesitation of how to actually interact with people face-to-face we engaged in inspirational discussions and making connections all over (again). With this blog post, we wanted to thank you, the organising team of the congress, for giving the floor to us youngsters of the CoE – and revisit the summary we made of the thematic unit 2 regarding agency and self-determination of older persons.

We summarised the research presented in the conference regarding this thematic unit and found connections and common themes between and within the presentations: there was research concerning participation, participatory approaches and co-design, as well as changes and crises in the life course, digitalisation and conceptualisation of old age. Instead of presenting any specific results, we want to bring these themes to simmer in the minds of the great thinkers reading this blog.

First, we found a common interest in participation. Ageing and care research has not been historically the trailblazer of participatory research and approaches, but now the time seems to be right for that. There is a need to employ older persons – or anyone whom the issue concerns – in the process, be it research or designing services. Participatory research and approaches in general have long been in use in disability studies and policies, with the motto “nothing about us without us”. Instead of top-down design, we need bottom-up, or maybe horizontal distribution of different knowledge; with us all on the same line with different expertise.

Connecting to participation, individual life courses and changes in them should be recognised. We all are individuals with our own experiences, needs and preferences, and hence, one size does not fit all. The need to research personalisation in services came up: would that alleviate some problems related to “one size fits all” -design? How to do that but still encourage universal design and collective responsibility? Here, too, more research is needed.

Digitalisation poses challenges in our changing society. As mentioned, we all are individuals, and we remain individuals as we age. Therefore, we use digital services, too, according to our individual needs and wants. As digital services (for ageing services) are designed, the people concerned should be involved in the process. Here, we come to our final common theme: conceptualisation of old age.

Conceptualisation of old age is created in social environment, as are stereotypes. The (negative) stereotypes of what old age is, and should be, can and should be challenged. This thematic unit studies also older persons with disabilities, and conceptualisation of “normal ageing” plays an important role in it. What is expected of older persons and what is not? When is a person old? What is the “normal” life course? It is challengeable.

Perhaps we could summarise our summary with one sentence: we want to broaden the conceptualisation of old age to recognise the heterogeneity of older persons as individuals, and through that, make research and (digital) service planning more inclusive and participatory for all.