| Speaker | Timecode | Transcript |
| Vivian | 01:00:02:00 | Welcome to the SUSS series of podcasts where we explore ideas, solutions, and collaborations that are making a difference in the lives of individuals, families, communities, and beyond. |
| Vivian | 01:00:16:00 | This series features guests who will discuss how we can achieve social impact for the greater good, no matter how big or small.
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| Vivian | 01:00:29:00 | With more countries around the world facing increasingly ageing populations, the issues of empowering and integrating the elderly into community has been cast into the spotlight. |
| Vivian | 01:00:41:00 | In 2015, the Ministerial Committee on Ageing in Singapore launched an Action Plan for Successful Ageing, which forms the nation’s blueprint to prepare its citizens to age well. |
| Vivian | 01:00:53:00 | I’m Vivian Lim, your host for this episode. Join us, as we sit with Dr. Kelvin Tan, Senior Lecturer of Gerontology at SUSS, and Mr. Wong Kai Wen, Senior Planner of Strategic Research at Urban Redevelopment Authority. Let’s find out what it takes to create an age-friendly community and why is creating such a community so urgent. |
| Vivian | 01:01:19:00 | Kelvin, can you share from your experiences, the macro overview? |
| Kelvin | 01:01:22:00 | Sure, thank you very much Vivian. So, in Singapore, we have one million baby boomers by the year 2030. And, this is a very important number to note because this means that we are ageing very fast. And how should we make the environment more friendly, more conducive for a multi-generation living? Multicultural? |
| Kelvin | 01:01:41:00 | Successful ageing in the community means creating more safety pathways for the seniors, accessibility to the amenities and also creating interaction among the neighbours. So that, there's a lot of trust, a lot of interactions, a lot of happiness, people doing what they like to do. |
| Kelvin | 01:01:57:00 | Being free and friendly. I think that's very important for an age-friendly environment. |
| Vivian | 01:02:01:00 | Kaiwen, what about yourself and your experience in URA, what are some trends that you're starting to see or have already seen? |
| Kaiwen | 01:02:08:00 | I’m from URA, we are the land use planning authority of Singapore. |
| Kaiwen | 01:02:12:00 | What we do is we work with multiple agencies like the Land Transport Authority, Housing and Development Board, as well as National Parks Board to actually plan different kinds of facilities and infrastructure around Singapore. |
| Kaiwen | 01:02:23:00 | And because we take a very long-term view of planning. I think Singapore, unlike other countries, takes a very long-range view of planning, so we can plan up to like 40, 50 years ahead. |
| Kaiwen | 01:02:32:00 | So we are always on the lookout for emerging trends, challenges, and issues that we should start planning for right now. And in fact, the ageing population is a very important issue that we have observed for many years now. It's not a new issue, unfortunately. I think over the years, you see life expectancies increasing, birth rates dropping, and all that. |
| Kaiwen | 01:02:51:00 | And that has really resulted in a very rapid rate of ageing compared to other cities around the world. |
| Kaiwen | 01:02:56:00 | And actually that has a very major impact in the way we plan our built environment. Because in the end, to enjoy the city you have to make sure that it is accessible. |
| Kaiwen | 01:03:04:00 | So when you have many seniors. The challenge to agencies is how do we continue to make the city accessible and enjoyable for them to live, work, play, and travel. And to do that, we conduct research. We conduct studies with universities, do long studies into understanding how seniors conduct their lifestyles. |
| Kaiwen | 01:03:23:00 | And from there, we translate that into plans and guidelines, that we will work with multiple agencies to implement. And we believe that is important. Taking an evidence-based approach through research is important to really understand what seniors need on the ground and not just based on some hearsay or anecdotal evidence. |
| Kaiwen | 01:03:42:00 | That's what we do at URA. |
| Vivian | 01:03:43:00 | I really like this whole evidence-based. And Kelvin has walked us through the staggering numbers. So other than the Singapore green plan, now we have the Singapore ageing plan 2030 to deal with as well. But understanding the massive numbers and statistics is one thing. What are some of the census on the ground that you feel? How are Singaporeans handling this situation of an ageing population? |
| Kelvin | 01:04:07:00 | Well, first of all, I think, Singaporeans are very busy people. And the families, looking at how their smaller setup, could still support the seniors and their family, the elders, their grandparents, or their parents. So we are looking at how in a family setting, a community setting as in neighbours can take care and help each other. |
| Kelvin | 01:04:28:00 | So that there could be more neighbourliness among the relationships that can be cultured and cultivated on the ground. So if we can get the seniors to do what they like to do and create a certain kind of cell group, which can form interests and build on it, strength on strength. |
| Kelvin | 01:04:45:00 | I think this will be very important. Rather than just the hardware, as in infrastructure, we are talking about the heartware, where people treat each other with trust, as friends and can look out for each other. I think that's very important from the ground up. |
| Kaiwen | 01:04:59:00 | Yeah. So picking up Kelvin’s point about the heartware. I think from URA’s perspective, the hardware is also important because for the heartware to happen, you need to have a certain kind of built environment, a certain building, a facility. Over the past few years, URA has been working with many agencies to see how we can enhance the age-friendliness of the environment at three levels. |
| Kaiwen | 01:05:17:00 | So at the national level, we want to make sure there are enough hospitals, health care facilities, daycare centres, for our seniors. That's a very important issue. And secondly, at the town level, when we plan new towns, like for example, Punggol or Sengkang and the newer towns, we want to make sure that the amenities and facilities are conveniently located to the resident, literally at the doorstep. |
| Kaiwen | 01:05:37:00 | So take, for example, Kampung Admiralty, it’s already planned with the objective in mind, to make all these community facilities, healthcare, public spaces, easily accessible for the seniors. And finally, we cannot forget at the building level… |
| Kaiwen | 01:05:52:00 | in terms of ramps, hand railings and all that. So together, we want to see how we can adopt a comprehensive approach to making our city age-friendly. And that in turn helps the communities to develop the heartware within this highly conducive environment. |
| Vivian | 01:06:07:00 | So if I’m hearing both of you correctly, infrastructure and the built environment are integral to supporting an ageing population. Both of you mentioned that the collaboration between different agencies help provide holistic solutions that we can apply for our community |
| Voiceover | 01:06:24:00 |
You’ve been listening to the SUSS series of podcasts. The next part of this episode will be available at suss.edu.sg/podcast. Stay tuned!
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END OF PART 1
|
| Vivian | 01:00:02:00 | Welcome to the SUSS series of podcasts where we explore ideas, solutions, and collaborations that are making a difference in the lives of individuals, families, communities, and beyond. |
| Vivian | 01:00:16:00 | This series features guests who will discuss how we can achieve social impact for the greater good, no matter how big or small.
|
| Vivian | 01:00:27:00 | Previously on the SUSS series of podcast. |
| Kaiwen | 01:00:32:00 | So at the national level, we want to make sure there are enough hospitals, healthcare facilities, daycare centres, for our seniors, that's a very important issue. And secondly, at the town level, when we plan new towns, like for example, Punggol or Sengkang and the newer towns, we want to make sure that the amenities and facilities are conveniently located to the residents, literally at the doorstep. |
| Kaiwen | 01:00:51:00 | So take, for example, Kampung Admiralty, it’s already planned with the objective in mind, to make all these community facilities, healthcare, public spaces, easily accessible for the seniors. And finally, we cannot forget at the building level. |
| Kaiwen | 01:01:05:00 | In terms of ramps, hand railings and all that. So together we want to see how we can adopt a comprehensive approach to making our city age-friendly. And that in turn helps the communities to develop the heartware within this highly conducive environment. |
| Vivian | 01:01:22:00 | So how you're solving that issue on ageing is just one facet, but looking at it from a multi-generational, and even from different facets to come together, I'm just really wondering, all that you've shared, both of you have been working on for the last couple of years and how URA has been working on for many, many years as well. |
| Vivian | 01:01:39:00 | What types of work through all your experiences stood out most to you? |
| Kelvin | 01:01:43:00 | For SUSS, we believe very much in applied learning. So the gerontology courses that we are conducting, being the first in Singapore, 11 years ago. We have groomed many talents. Most of them are working adults who would like to know more about ageing in place, policies, practitioners, knowing how they could actually help to advocate the statement of gerontology. |
| Kelvin | 01:02:09:00 | So in teaching the courses, we provide opportunities for students to interact with the ground. |
| Kelvin | 01:02:15:00 | They interviewed families that have seniors and would like to know how these seniors are coping with some of the stresses that are happening, especially in a pandemic. |
| Kelvin | 01:02:26:00 | A lot of seniors have to stay at home. They face loneliness, depression, et cetera. So what we are doing in SUSS as an educational institution, is to create opportunities for our students to interact, to come up with new ideas that will improve the quality of living and wellbeing of the seniors. |
| Kelvin | 01:02:46:00 | For example, we have a module called Impact Startup Challenge. When the students go through this whole process of learning, they pick up the problem statements from the ground and look at innovative ways to solve these problem statements. It could be technology, it could be a process. |
| Kelvin | 01:03:02:00 | It could be at systems level, where they could look to create innovative ideas that will make a difference in the lives of our seniors. So these are really important because we want to encourage the younger generation to empathise with what's happening on the ground and therefore be more connected in some ways through their new knowledge. |
| Vivian | 01:03:23:00 | Kaiwen, I see you nodding in agreement. |
| Kaiwen | 01:03:24:00 | Yeah, totally. I was just reflecting on that. Even as URA and other agencies, we make plans, we make policies, we do research. I think at the end of the day co-creation is very important. Getting the buy-in of the seniors. Hearing what they want is equally important. |
| Kaiwen | 01:03:40:00 | If not more, to get their buy-in on the various designs that we have. |
| Kelvin | 01:03:44:00 | The social services agency organisation called AWWA. |
| Kelvin | 01:03:47:00 | They came to us and said they want to do a hackathon with our students. And we're pretty excited because the hackathon means that our students got an opportunity to work with them, to get mentorship from them on the pain points they are facing by their frontline workers. |
| Kelvin | 01:04:00:00 | And who are these frontline workers? These are the caregivers who knock on the doors of their clients who are elderly staying alone, requiring support because they are on their own. And our students can actually work on these problem statements, for example, to see how we can interact through some of the new ideas, some of the new technologies to know how they are feeling. How to bring services to them, how to schedule the different services that they will need in their home. |
| Kelvin | 01:04:29:00 | And even for wheelchair-bound seniors. We want to encourage them to go out, breathe some fresh air and be comfortable. Not worried about their safety issues. So we're looking at all these interesting problem statements. Yes, exactly. To improve the quality of living and well-being for the seniors that AWWA has to take care of. |
| Kelvin | 01:04:49:00 | Because this is really part of the whole service. So students came up with interesting ideas that really impressed some of the judges that we invited from the industry. |
| Kelvin | 01:04:58:00 | And so we are creating opportunities for innovation. To be introduced to this whole silver sector. |
| Vivian | 01:05:05:00 | It’s like what you said about applied learning. Looking at real-life issues that a social service agency feels and experiences on a day-to-day basis and getting the students who eventually would pick up a career in startups. |
| Kelvin | 01:05:20:00 | They can even do a startup. That is what we want them to do right? Then they can have pathways to different additional resources, whether it is from Enterprise Singapore or even one of the corporate partners, Alibaba, that is really to give extra support for these ideas to take flight. And that’s very important. |
| Vivian | 01:05:33:00 | Which is true. And now you're looking at the whole ageing population with all these multi-disciplinary solutions that can support and solve this problem. |
| Vivian | 01:05:41:00 | It's so interesting to tackle this problem of ageing, right? It's also about co-creation like what Kai Wen you were saying. It's about involving different stakeholders. I never knew that the students have to go out for applied learning. |
| Vivian | 01:05:54:00 | And when Kaiwen, you mentioned it makes sense because they're talking to the seniors that are using the facilities. |
| Vivian | 01:06:00:00 | So how can you build a neighbourhood, a community that they are happy to live in. So it's not tackling an issue just because ageing is a problem. But looking at it from a holistic point of view, how can we as a community step in to help change their lives for the better. In this train of thoughts as well. I'm just wondering. |
| Vivian | 01:06:19:00 | What gaps do you still see? As we work towards tackling the problem of ageing. |
| Kelvin | 01:06:24:00 | The changing of mindset is very important for everyone to embrace the new normal, especially post-pandemic. This is where we will like the different generations as well as seniors to feel that they actually can do more. They are not just the takers of the fruits of their labour. Because they’re in this stage of their lives. Retirement, or easing off a bit, enjoying themselves. They can also give back to society and the community. |
| Kelvin | 01:06:50:00 | So we see that the gap there is how do we tap on the seniors as a form of social capital, to help other seniors even, or to help their families more. Because if they can be healthy mentally and physically, they will actually be able to contribute more to society. |
| Kelvin | 01:07:06:00 | So I think this is the part where we feel that there's a gap. How to enable it, how to create more of such opportunities for them. We can learn from other countries. So I think one of the countries is Japan. They are already a super-ageing society. They are a pretty closed society. |
| Kelvin | 01:07:21:00 | However, on the other hand, they work very closely as a community, where they try to empower the seniors to enjoy what they're doing. For example, gardening, cooking. And they don't just cook for themselves. They actually try to share with their neighbours and create a kind of friendship and trust, which is very, very important. |
| Kelvin | 01:07:41:00 | So that, like I mentioned earlier, wherever there's a shout-out for help, they can be there to help each other. So such is the kind of community that we would like to encourage and therefore create a mindset shift in Singapore. |
| Kaiwen | 01:07:54:00 | Yes, actually Kelvin’s point about mindset shift really resonates with me, because while government agencies we can have all the beautiful plans, policies, and all that, but who implements them on the ground now? It’s actually our contractors, essential workers, architects, and all those who actually translate all these guidelines into built form, things that you see on the ground. |
| Kaiwen | 01:08:13:00 | And a lot of times, while we can have all these design codes, it's the mindset that they use the approach in terms of implementing all these guidelines. If they take it as just another guideline, they may actually implement it in a very arbitrary way that actually doesn't meet the objectives. So just take a very well-known example, that of ramps I think you see around Singapore. |
| Kaiwen | 01:08:32:00 | They promote wheelchair accessibility and all that. But a lot of times we got feedback from residents that, oh, they are too steep you know. You need a lot of energy, a lot of strength to push the senior up, or they're just too long, like for example overhead bridges. |
| Kaiwen | 01:08:44:00 | By the time you wheel the senior up, you might as well just cross the road at the surface or jaywalk even. So I think that's really the key challenge that we face is how do we work together as a society, with all the different stakeholders, and also making them think that this is not something you just you need to comply with, but there’s a bigger reason for doing that, which is really to include everybody in society. |
| Kaiwen | 01:09:05:00 | Our seniors, persons with special needs, mobility needs, and all that. So I think that mindset shift is very, very important. Another key area that we perhaps need to address is that usually, we look at seniors as individuals. That means like, oh, ageing population. Oh, it’s the old person there, sitting on the bench. |
| Kaiwen | 01:09:24:00 | But we forget that this senior is part of a bigger ecosystem. It's part of a family, it's part of a community. So how do we better support, let's say, the caregivers, the family, in caring for these seniors? I think this is a very important issue as Kelvin said, we have more and more seniors. In fact, in less than 10 years in 2030, we will have 900,000 seniors, aged over 65. |
| Kaiwen | 01:09:45:00 | So how can we better enable our families, our community to better care for them? So in this respect, I think there's a lot that we can do. And actually, another thing that I don't have the numbers on hand, but increasingly there are more and more seniors who are living alone, due to lifestyle choices to decide, to remain single or they choose not to have children. |
| Kaiwen | 01:10:04:00 | So who are the people to support them? So I think from the agency's perspective, we want to see how we can then link back to the built environment again. How do we provide enough daycare centres, amenities, services, and programmes, for example, to support all these seniors, living in a community to make them feel connected to society and not isolated? |
| Kaiwen | 01:10:22:00 | This is something that I believe that we can work together on. |
| Vivian | 01:10:26:00 | So I see this field of work in gerontology evolving. Because the target audience needs are evolving as well. Both of you talk about mindset shifts. Kelvin, what mindset shift do you see from the students when they start the first semester in their class? I'm just really interested. For the students who are joining in and understanding this, all this must be overwhelming for them. |
| Vivian | 01:10:47:00 | So what kind of mindset shifts have you seen from the students? |
| Kelvin | 01:10:51:00 | For the students who come to study Gerontology, they are coming from different disciplines and backgrounds. And that's very important because gerontology is about understanding ageing, not just from one perspective, clinical or nursing, but really everything. |
| Kelvin | 01:11:08:00 | It could be technology, it could be business, it could be finance. And this is very important because when they came in, some of them didn't even know the word gerontology well at all, or even pronounce it. It's very tough for them. |
| Kelvin | 01:11:23:00 | Exactly. That’s the point, right? So, the good thing is they came in with an open mind that they are here to learn, not just from the academics, but between students. They form groups to learn from each other because most of them are working adults. |
| Kelvin | 01:11:38:00 | So they have different backgrounds, different exposure, different personal working experiences. So it enriches the whole learning journey for most of them. |
| Kelvin | 01:11:47:00 | But we want them to be able to also appreciate the work of other countries. So that's why our studies require them to do a literature review, to understand what other countries are doing in terms of best practices. |
| Kelvin | 01:11:58:00 | And critique constructively, what would be useful for Singapore? Because this is very important. In Singapore, we are a very multicultural country. We have to be sensitive to different religions, different races. So they learn a lot of these aspects from a multi-dimensional perspective and then after the first year. |
| Kelvin | 01:12:17:00 | They could then pick the different majoring tracks, whether it's practitioner or research, to further deepen their knowledge and apply that to the community. So I feel that they are quite a changed person in a very good way after their education here with SUSS because they could immediately apply along the way as they learn. |
| Kelvin | 01:12:37:00 | And, in a sense, you know, even the family members would benefit from their knowledge. This is where we feel that they have got a lot more than when they first entered our module. |
| Kaiwen | 01:12:47:00 | In fact, I can totally agree with that. I mean I’m also a part-time student doing the Masters of Gerontology programme. Actually, it benefitted me a lot in terms of knowledge. Ageing is not an abstract thing anymore. |
| Kaiwen | 01:12:57:00 | It's not just part of your work, but something that you can really empathise with. It actually enhances your knowledge. And you can understand why seniors see things from a certain angle. |
| Kaiwen | 01:13:06:00 | And actually, it really helps me through my work - I can also help to influence other agencies, the different stakeholders I’ve worked with. Why is age-friendly design such an important issue? And it's true with all these knowledge that I have, I can sort of better put up a case for why you do certain things or not. And personally, I’m also a caregiver, and through the knowledge that I gain, I can learn to better manage, understand, how my care recipients are feeling, and all that. And what kind of services that she can access. |
| Vivian | 01:13:34:00 | So if i were to really summarise from our conversation– Kaiwen, you mentioned and spoke a lot about how there can be more elderly who are living alone due to various circumstances. |
| Vivian | 01:13:45:00 | While, Dr Kelvin, you mentioned that we can learn from the example of other countries. And really, understanding the needs of elderly and their caregivers should be a key element in urban planning for us here. |
| Voiceover | 01:113:59:00 | You’ve been listening to the SUSS series of podcasts. The next part of this episode will be available at suss.edu.sg/podcast. Stay tuned! |
END OF PART 2
|
| Vivian | 01:00:02:00 | Welcome to the SUSS series of podcasts where we explore ideas, solutions, and collaborations that are making a difference in the lives of individuals, families, communities, and beyond. |
| Vivian | 01:00:16:00 | This series features guests who will discuss how we can achieve social impact for the greater good, no matter how big or small.
|
| Vivian | 01:00:27:00 | Previously on the SUSS series of podcast. |
| Kaiwen | 01:00:31:00 | I’m also a part-time student doing the Masters of Gerontology programme. Actually, it benefitted me a lot in terms of knowledge. Ageing is not an abstract thing anymore. |
| Kaiwen | 01:00:39:00 | It's not just part of your work, but something that you can really empathise with. It actually enhances your knowledge. And you can understand why seniors see things from a certain angle. |
| Kaiwen | 01:00:48:00 | And actually, it really helps me through my work - I can also help to influence other agencies, the different stakeholders I’ve worked with. Why is age-friendly design such an important issue? |
| Kaiwen | 01:00:57:00 | And it's true with all this knowledge that I have, I can sort of better put up a case for why you do certain things or not. And personally, I’m also a caregiver, and through the knowledge that I gain, I can learn to better manage, understand, how my care recipients are feeling, and all that. And what kind of services that she can access. |
| Vivian | 01:01:19:00 | I think the issue of ageing and ageing population is so real, all of us, or you would know friends that would become caregivers, or we would age as well. |
| Vivian | 01:01:30:00 | So I think it's about changing our mindset to make these little changes in our day-to-day lives. That can help change the lives of the elderly as well. |
| Vivian | 01:01:38:00 | Dr. Kelvin, when we were having a chat earlier, you mentioned this very interesting term called the longevity economy. I've never heard about that. I've heard about the silver economy or Kaiwen was saying, the silver tsunami. |
| Vivian | 01:01:53:00 | But not longevity economy. Can you share with us and tell us more about what this is? |
| Kelvin | 01:01:58:00 | Well, the longevity economy is really the economy that we are seeing from the benefits that the baby boomers generation, for example. They are probably in their sixties. They have more savings. They have more time on their hands to travel, to spend money, and to also contribute back in terms of the workforce because some of them could be back from retirement and they want flexible hours. What we call gig economy, for example. |
| Kelvin | 01:02:23:00 | So all these build up to a very interesting picture where the economy is not dim because we have older adults forming the weaker population. But rather the older adults are the best consumers of new technologies of new products, of anti-ageing medicine for example, of exercise. |
| Kelvin | 01:02:42:00 | Right? So there's so much that's happening. It's just that probably, again, it’s about mindset and understanding better the needs of these older adults. So that's really booming, especially in Singapore, by 2030. There's going to be one in four that will be over 65 years old. |
| Kelvin | 01:03:00:00 | And in 2050 it's one in two, so you turn left, you turn right, there is going to be someone who is over 65 years old. So why are we missing out on these opportunities and looking at things more optimistically? |
| Kaiwen | 01:03:14:00 | Yeah definitely. I totally agree with you. We should actually look at ageing population in a more positive way. It’s for the same reason I really don't like the term silver tsunami. Because it seems to indicate that there’s this disaster coming on us and there's nothing we can do about it. Instead, we should see how we can leverage it. I mean, besides the economic spin-offs, I think there’s also a social value. I think it's just one small step. When we change our mindsets about seniors to make our society more inclusive. |
| Kaiwen | 01:03:38:00 | I think, especially in this COVID, that's a lot of thought about all these societal fault lines that are emerging, social issues, mental health issues. Actually, if you look at it, seniors would become a very important demographic. So first of all, we need to see how our society can be more inclusive towards them. Not just in terms of the city, you know, the urban design all that but also in terms of the programming, the services, even the policies themselves. |
| Kaiwen | 01:04:01:00 | And actually that would be a very important step to making our society more inclusive and accepting of other people. You know, who are different from us, they could be persons with special needs, with disabilities, etc., etc. And all this will actually help to contribute to making Singapore a more compassionate society in the future as well. |
| Kaiwen | 01:04:18:00 | And I think that is something that a lot of us want Singapore to be. I mean, besides having economic growth and all that, I think building that social compact is also very important going forward. |
| Vivian | 01:04:28:00 | I like how the whole issue is pivoted from being seen as a challenge or as something that's very negative. |
| Vivian | 01:04:35:00 | But instead, I'm hearing from both of you, it's actually something very positive. It's coming. We need to embrace it more positively, looking at all the benefits, looking at the wider ecosystem, and the benefits that it can bring to the rest of the community as well. |
| Vivian | 01:04:50:00 | So that's really a very interesting twist instead of changing the world one life at a time. You're looking at changing many, many lives, and also enabling the seniors to help change the lives of the rest of our community as well. |
| Kelvin | 01:05:03:00 | I mean, seniors are a form of social capital, right? So that's why we should look at them as a very important asset. |
| Kelvin | 01:05:09:00 | To the whole society, to the whole family. The latest that we are talking about is cyber wellness. We talked about digital literacy only for young people or the youths. But actually, seniors can also embrace technology, right? They can be part of the digital nannies at home. |
| Kelvin | 01:05:28:00 | For example, when the parents are busy working and the kids are playing with the computers or games, the seniors could be that extra pair of eyes to help with looking after the kids. If they are equipped with some digital literacy knowledge, they could very well be part of that whole process that would look after the kids better and maybe play games with the kids and build bonds between them because we know that the grandparents and kids are usually quite friendly with each other. |
| Kelvin | 01:05:55:00 | That's my own personal experience, right? Where else the parents are always deemed to be the more serious person in the home, taking the disciplinary approach for their own children. Whereas, grandparents will buy things and talk to the kids and always praise them. |
| Kelvin | 01:06:10:00 | So maybe we can do more to strengthen that bond, and therefore, show the shine that social capital can do within the family unit. And then in the community, seniors or older adults helping each other, I think that is also possible. And then at the top level, which is the macro level, we are creating the longevity economy. |
| Kelvin | 01:06:31:00 | So really this requires everyone to look at things differently, and, to be, appreciating what's happening in life. |
| Kaiwen | 01:06:38:00 | And perhaps the easiest way is to start with yourself on an individual basis. I mean, we will all grow old. So perhaps we need to reflect: okay, what do I want to be when I grow old? What are my aspirations? What are my needs? |
| Kaiwen | 01:06:49:00 | How do I want people to treat me? How do I want my society to treat me? And that in a way will provide some answers. You really want something more inclusive, some more welcoming for seniors. So I think starting with the individual is really quite important and I think it's very powerful to think of it that way. |
| Kelvin | 01:07:05:00 | Exactly. And in the whole process, we are fostering more people to be empathetic to each other, through the whole process of learning and relearning, and applying. |
| Vivian | 01:07:14:00 | I like how the takeaway it's really starting from such a simple, but probably the most difficult solution. Looking at yourself, looking at the individual family unit. |
| Vivian | 01:07:24:00 | Looking at the immediate neighbourhood and void decks, like what Kaiwen you were saying. (Kaiwen: Yeah correct) In order to create this wave of change in the field of gerontology for our society to cope with an ageing population. So this is really interesting. |
| Kelvin | 01:07:37:00 | Exactly. Actually, the void deck is very uniquely Singapore. There are so many things that we can do in a void deck. Right now we have RC centres there. They are teaching cooking classes, maybe some Tai Chi exercises, maybe a garden plot of land for them to grow some of the plants and vegetables. But beyond that, it could be a place for sharing. |
| Kelvin | 01:07:57:00 | So it's not just classes, learning and that's it. But really a place where they can interact with each other more and build trust. I think trust is very important, right? I mean, we learned that from some of the forums that we jointly conducted. |
| Kaiwen | 01:08:11:00 | Yes, correct. Actually that really resonates with me. I can share an anecdote. I mean I’ve asked an academic before. He did a presentation on social isolation. I said, “what can we do for seniors in Singapore? To get them out of their homes, to interact with people, with the community.” And he said, “Actually, Kaiwen, our infrastructure is very good. I mean, you have to admit it, Singapore, if you compare to other cities, definitely a good infrastructure, good housing, decent housing, decent amenities.” |
| Kaiwen | 01:08:34:00 | But what is lacking is that sense of ownership from seniors. So he raised the example of void decks precisely. He said that if we continue to regulate the void decks the way that we do now, we don’t allow any kind of uses, right. Then that becomes really a void space, but rather you can think of void space as an opportunity as having that kind of potential to build community bonds, not just among seniors, but across generations even. |
| Kaiwen | 01:08:58:00 | And there's so much potential there because every HDB block in Singapore has a void deck. You don't really need to invest in more fanciful infrastructure and all that. You don't need that. Just the basic things will do. Just give them a space where they can do their own things, build their community bonds and you have it. You’ve solved the issue...almost there. |
| Kelvin | 01:09:18:00 | Yea, actually we're helping them to stay healthy through interaction also. Because for example, they need to take care of their brain. That's very important, right. Because if they feed themselves with the right knowledge, learn continuously. This is the brain gym we are talking about right. |
| Kelvin | 01:09:32:00 | The more you use your brain, to interact, to talk, to improve your cognitive behaviours because of this interaction. They will feel much more active and much happier. So we are talking about adding life to the years and not adding years to life. I think this is such an evergreen statement and we should always remind ourselves that we have one life. |
| Kelvin | 01:09:53:00 | And in this life we should try to make the best out of it and make as many friends as we can. Because this is the way, the community can be much happier and loving and enjoying one another. |
| Vivian | 01:10:03:00 | Yeah, it’s really looking at these small changes, making all these small changes around us and our families, in the communities and the void decks (Kaiwen: Yes) and bringing different stakeholders together, the caregivers, the elderly themselves, and their family members or neighbours, right. |
| Vivian | 01:10:18:00 | To develop solutions that can help change the environment. And of course, you know work towards a more inclusive community, not just for the elders, but for everyone that is ageing as well. |
| Kelvin | 01:10:31:00 | Yeah. And learning to be tolerant of little things that are not perfect. I think this is also very important because Singaporeans sometimes are so stiff, we expect a hundred percent perfect before we go out and do something. |
| Kelvin | 01:10:42:00 | Actually, we should try to embrace imperfection. That little, few percent that is not going to make you score A. Doesn't mean that you are a failure. It actually means that you can have a chance to try it out and improve on it. So, therefore, the aspect of respecting each other, creating a dignified life, and also embracing imperfection, should be part of the whole fun of living. |
| Vivian | 01:11:05:00 | Now, as it seems, gerontology is not just social science, right? It’s so deeply embedded in the cultural, psychological aspects of things.It’s beyond just a subject, an academic subject. That’s what I'm hearing from all these insights. |
| Kelvin | 01:11:20:00 | That's why we encouraged them to come to SUSS and learn with us. |
| Vivian | 01:11:27:00 | And they learn together. |
| Vivian | 01:29:18:00 | Thank you so much for both your insights. |
| Kelvin | 01:11:31:00 | We hope you can join us in our class. |
| Vivian | 01:11:33:00 | For sure. For sure I’ll sneak in to listen to one of your classes. ( |
| Vivian | 01:11:38:00 | Yeah, so thank you very much Kelvin and Kaiwen. |
| Voice Over | 01:11:43:00 | You’ve been listening to the SUSS series of podcasts. To find more episodes, visit suss.edu.sg/podcast. |