Islanders “are living longer, but not necessarily better”, according to those behind a new initiative aiming to reimagine how we age.

The Island of Longevity is a group of islanders seeking to promote policies that ensure a better quality of life for Jersey’s ageing population.

Members launched ‘A Holistic Framework for Jersey’ at an event on Thursday night.

Developed through the voices and ideas of hundreds of islanders over the last 18 months, the framework aims to offer a starting point for shaping a society that supports health, purpose, connection and security across a 100-year life. 

Speaking to Express at the launch, Island of Longevity member and occupational physician Dr Chris Edmond said: “The next steps are going to be setting up, probably as a not-for-profit organisation, so that it’ll have a structure.”

He said the group is also planning on fundraising, potentially through sponsorship from businesses or charitable foundations.

Members had “deliberately kept it apolitical”, he added, “because it’s a civic movement”.

Olivia Chaplin, who led on questions of wellbeing economy, said at the event that people “are living longer, but not necessarily better”.

The idea of the wellbeing economy, she said, was the result of “new, more sustainable economic thinking”.

She explained: “The Wellbeing Economy Alliance, which is a global change-making association working together to transform economic systems, describes it in a number of ways.”

Citing economist Kate Raworth, she added: “A wellbeing economy is an economy designed to serve people and planet, not the other way around.

“It’s an economy in service to life, an economy that meets the needs of all people within the boundaries of a living planet.”

Different components fed into the wellbeing economy like a web, she explained.

Island of Longevity also outlined the six pillars of its framework: health and wellbeing, economy, workplace learning and participation, community, environment and place, personal finance, and technology.

Health and wellbeing

Under the first of the six pillars in the framework, the group set out an ambition to promote “a holistic, preventative model of health”, with a focus on public health.

A “joined-up ecosystem” would bring together mental, physical, social and environmental wellbeing, members explained.

Initiatives like Connect Me and Move More Jersey would be promoted alongside community kitchens and gardens, and access to affordable, healthy local food, with fewer barriers to participation.

Economy

The economy pillar includes requests to adopt wellbeing metrics alongside GDP, supporting entrepreneurship, and support for private pensions, savings and insurance.

It also includes using factors like health and environmental resilience in financial decisions.

Workplace learning and participation

The workplace learning and participation pillar, led by Tina Palmer, suggests creating fairness for migrant and temporary workers, as well as supporting flexible careers and work that has “purpose”.

“We need to create systems that enable thriving in balance in a wellbeing economy,” she explained.

“Thriving in balance means looking beyond GDP, looking at how success can be measured through holistic indicators such as life satisfaction, environmental health and community strength, rather than just financial measures.”

She linked longevity with loneliness. There is a need, she added, to build housing and public spaces that foster community.

Community, environment and place

Kate Wright, who led the group talking about the community pillar, said: “It’s all about belonging.”

“That’s a term that has been banded about for a while, but I don’t think we really take the time to understand what that means for everyone on our island,” she added.

A “social contract” formed “the heart of the framework”, she explained, noting: “There are people in the workstream, who felt that they belonged, and there were people who were born here, have lived here all their lives, and didn’t feel that they belonged.”

The island’s loneliest people, she said, could be “completely under the radar”.

Mrs Wright said: “It was clear from our future workstreams that there are people within our community who are not included as they should be, and do not feel included and do not participate in the community for lots of different reasons. Do we even know who all of those people are?”

The ideas brought forward included investing in shared spaces, parish halls and parks, encouraging multigenerational living, supporting cultural and community groups, and encouraging cultural change and emotional intelligence.

Personal finance

Phil Romeril, who led the discussion on the personal finance pillar, said the current model was created for a 70-year lifespan, “but it struggles when you get into the 80s and 90s”.

“Young people are not taught how to prepare their finances for getting to 80 or 90,” he explained.

Recommendations included promoting financial literacy and personal savings, encouraging home ownership, and giving welfare support to those most in need.

Technology

A sixth workstream on technology is set to be established. This will look at digital infrastructure, digital health records, artificial intelligence, and digital skills for those over 55.

LISTEN…

Express spoke about the Island of Longevity project in an in-depth podcast series last year.

You can listen to all episodes below or wherever you get your podcasts…

Source link