Living Longer, Living Well

The University of Cape Town Summer School programme presented an exciting opportunity for people, both young and old to learn more about an important and under-appreciated subject – the personal, societal and economic effects of living longer. This multi-disciplinary course allows participants to learn from a range of experts on topics related to ageing and longevity. Centenarians are obviously doing something right, so what can we learn from them? Kate Brown, Sarah Harper of the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing and occupational therapists Rae Labuschagne and Sylvia Birkhead completed the line-up of a thought provoking, valuable and interesting course for both individuals and policy makers. Participants in this course were able to learn and interact with these experts on a range of topics including what contributes towards longevity and how people make, or could make, informed decisions that may enhance their quality of life. The course consisted of four sessions and an optional excursion to the Irma Stern Museum. Lectures 1. Ageing and extreme ageing (Prof Sarah Harper, Oxford Institute of Population Ageing) 2. Health, wealth and attitude related to ageing in the context of integrated financial planning (Kate Brown) 3. Old People are adults too (Prof Sarah Harper, Oxford Institute of Population Ageing) The course ran 4–8 February 2014 Course details: http://www.summerschool.uct.ac.za/living-longer-%E2%80%93-living-well The podcasts linked above are of the lecture series and do not include the interactive sessions where participants engaged with Sylvia Birkhead (occupational therapist) & Rae Labuschagne (gerontologist and occupational therapist)