Workshops

The “Coming of Age”: Cultural Construction of Age(ing)

September 7 and 8, 2006
Akademie der Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Berlin

Cooperation of the Embassy of the United States of America, the British Council and the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation

While Western societies are getting older we are still obsessed with trying to stay young; age tends to be what is postponed and neglected. Trends like anti-aging and wellness maintain an ideal of dynamic progress and youth. Despite an obvious demographic change our cultures lack positive visions of an ageing society.

This attitude has been challenged recently: Individuals, business and governments are beginning to discover the demographic change as an opportunity. Initiatives of senior citizens offer their expertise, businesses respond with innovative products and creative ways to design home and city environments; advertising is beginning to represent ageing with joy, beauty, and fulfillment.

Old age has been represented in the arts and media over time, images and stories have informed the attitude vis-à-vis the older generation. Old versus young have been reflected through paintings and photography, through literature and film. Different cultures imply the cultural meaning of age in a variety of ways. Written and oral narratives document and shape the individual as well as the social perception of one’s changing role in life. In an international and interdisciplinary approach outstanding experts discuss the cultural and personal construction of age and ageing and develop visions of an ageing society.