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ity.
Invest in Age-Enabling City
(iii) Technology to Create an Age-En-
The process of establishing an age-en- abling City
abling city which sustains a vibrant, economically
productive and socially engaged older society re- With the establishment of the Innovation
quires a joint effort of all sectors. Based on the re- and Technology Bureau and the promotion of the
search, which also draws from World Health Orga- Healthy Aging platform initiated by the Hong Kong
nization’s Healthy Ageing framework, we propose Science and Technology Parks Cooperation, Hong
Hong Kong should to review the political, social and Kong is ready to leverage on new technologies to
physical environments of Hong Kong in order to bet- transform the city into an age-enabling one.
ter prepare the city for its aging population:
Investments in biotechnological research
(i) Collaborative Governance would generate technological breakthroughs that
improve biological capacity. The Ministry of Educa-
Aging policy encompasses a myriad of tion (MOE) Key Laboratory of Regenerative Medi-
disciplines and impacts the every aspect of lives cine jointly established by the Chinese University of
of everyone in the community. No single institu- Hong Kong and Jinan University is an example of
tion alone can formulate integrated policies and inter-university effort to develop innovative technol-
comprehensive strategies for aging which will be ogies to promote health.
effective. Cross-sector collaboration experiences in
other countries, also include academic institutions Assistive technology is revolutionizing the
working alongside the government and the private way older people can independently manage their
sector to develop age-enabling policies, can be used health thus successfully age in place. Substantial
as a reference for Hong Kong’s own initiatives. Col- international experiences, demonstrate that the
laboration is necessary between the government, inclusion of medical and sensor-equipped devices
business sector and civil society to establish Hong in the living environment of older people increase
Kong as an age-enabling city, so that no generation their level of independence, enabling the realization
will be left behind as they age. of the concept of aging in place.

(ii) Build Social Capital for Sharing of Hong Kong can also utilize big data analyt-
Resources ics to understand the everyday lives of our popu-

lation and create an age-enabling city. Data linkage
Aging policies can establish platforms to is necessary among all government departments
enable cross transfer of resources between people and the participation of academic institutions in the
of different generations. Building cross-generation- process is a pre-requisite. In the process of estab-
al solidarity is one way of tapping into the human lishing a big data platform, one of the first issues
capital of the older population. Greater efforts are that needs to be tackled is privacy protection. With
necessary to establish a culture of positive intergen- collaborative efforts, Hong Kong will become an
erational relationships not only within families, but age-enabling city that can maximize the opportuni-
also in the workplace and in the community as a ty of an aging population, thus ensure sustainability.
whole. Redefining the retirement age, incentivizing
employment in older age and investing in lifelong An Investment to Enable the Cel-
learning and senior volunteer programs are also pol- ebration of Aging

icy options to release the resources embedded in
the older generation. Amidst a shrinking workforce, To enable the celebration of aging, society
the skills and experiences of older people can be an has to invest in promoting the health of the pop-
asset to promote economic, health and sustainabil- ulation. Research from the U.K. has demonstrated

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