Recipes for Systemic Change - Helsinki Design Lab

Challenge Excerpt77The coming of this ‘Silver Wave’ is coincident withbroader structural changes occurring globally. Post-warwelfare institutions are subject to additional stresses as theyconfront unfamiliar conditions such as expanding marketsand competition, increasing diversity and fluidity, and newunderstandings of citizenship, participation and social relationships.Welfare systems will have to evolve along with theconstituencies that they serve if both are to continue gracefullyinto the twenty-first century.The Nordic welfare model has garnered attention becauseof its manifold successes. Tight integration into social fabricsand deep penetration into economic foundations make theNordic model unique among welfare systems. But it is unclearif such a structured, embedded model is flexible enough toaccommodate the onset of these structural challenges.Models that prove too rigid or brittle willlikely fail under mounting pressures. An agileresponse will require that the ‘how’ be as flexibleas the ‘who’ is diverse and numerous. The basicterms of the discussion remain open for definition.For instance, ‘old age’ can be described in amultitude of ways: although a biological definitionmay be the easiest to evaluate, it can also belimiting.Providing adequate care for the elderly, while also preservingtheir dignity, will be one of the pressing challengesfor existing welfare systems. Handling the ageing challengewill yield broader insights for understanding how society atlarge cares for itself. Harnessing the untapped potential ofthe elderly as a value-producing segment of society, rethinkingsocietal and institutional roles and responsibilities, anddevising new ways to measure progress and set targets constitutekey areas for future development.This Studio was designed to recast ageing as an opportunityrather than as a problem. In doing so, changing the veryunderstanding of ‘elderly’ is one important step towards adeep conversation about the future of our welfare systemsand the population they support.‘Old age’ can be described in amultitude of ways: although abiological definition may be theeasiest to evaluate, it can also belimiting.This excerpt is taken from the Ageing StudioChallenge Briefing which is reprinted in theappendix. > P273 for more.