Future Now
The IFTF Blog
Welcome to the Future of Aging in America
2011 marks a watershed for aging in America. This year, the first baby boomers reach the age of 65, making them senior citizens by most definitions. This dramatic demographic shift has some big implications. The elder care infrastructure of this country was designed to meet the needs of much smaller generations, with very different values and expectations than those of the boomers. Radical change in elder care systems is inevitable—but what will it look like?
At Institute for the Future, we’ve responded to precisely that question with our “Boomers: The Next 20 Years” project. In it, we explain how different boomers will take different approaches to navigate new ecologies of risk, highly politicized foodscapes, emerging sustainability practices, a renaissance of civil society, and a continuing personalization of faith.
In addition, six IFTF researchers contributed to the current issue of Generations: The Journal of the American Society on Aging on the future of aging and envisioning futures scenarios for the Baby Boomers. This group of researchers and experts are also presenting at the "A National Forum on the Future of Aging: Looking Ahead" program in San Francisco on Friday, April 29. The purpose of this forum is to explore the future of aging from a variety of perspectives, in order to enrich participants’ views of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, and to provide them with tools for making use of future-oriented thinking in their ongoing planning activities.
IFTF affiliate Richard Adler will lead the forum and present its opening session. Health Horizons Director Rod Falcon, as well as Research Manager Miriam Lueck Avery, will be on hand to give a guided tour of our “Boomers” map and let attendees try out futures thinking with some interactive games. Our Distinguished Fellow, Bob Johansen, will close out the forum, introduces 10 new skills that leaders need to develop if they and their organizations are going to thrive in the 21st century.