The event, “Encounter of voices on aging, work, and care” was organized by the Center for Economics and Social Policy (CEAS), the Doctoral Program in Public Policy, the School of Occupational Therapy at Universidad Mayor, and the Millennium Institute for Care Research (MICARE).
On October 14, an interdisciplinary, intersectoral, and intergenerational dialogue was held on the challenges and opportunities presented by longevity, extended labor participation, and care in Chile. The purpose was to encourage collaborative reflection among academia, the state, the private sector, social organizations, and older workers.
This event was promoted by M. Cristina Fernández, PhD candidate in Public Policy and academic at the School of Occupational Therapy, together with Bárbara Flores, academic and researcher at CEAS, who is currently directing her doctoral thesis on the extension of working life.
The welcome was given by Mario Morales, dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Arts; Orquídea Miranda, director of the School of Occupational Therapy; Quentin Ramond, director of CEAS; and Teresita Rocha, director of the Doctorate in Public Policy at Universidad Mayor.
The context and background for the dialogue were presented by M. Cristina Fernández and Bárbara Flores, followed by a presentation by Nicolás Ratto, head of the Employment Policy Division, Ministry of Labor and Social Security, who provided the institutional perspective on the labor participation of older adults and ongoing legal reforms.
The conversation was then moderated by Professor Orquídea Miranda and the panel composed of María Isabel Robles, deputy director of Social Technical National of Hogar de Cristo; Pablo Villalobos, director of the School of Public Health at Universidad Mayor; Rodrigo González from ESIGN, and Andrés Zamorano, ESIGN analyst, as a representative of an older person who is active in the labor market. All of them reflected on the capacity for agency, freedom to decide on retirement, and limiting factors.
René Guzmán, head of the National Office of Health for Adults and Older Adults of the Life Cycle Department of the Ministry of Health, and M. Cristina Fernández participated in the final dialogue, broadening the vision of aging and the well-being of older adults.
The closing session was led by students from the Scientific Society of Occupational Therapy, who conducted an online survey of attendees during the meeting and systematized the reflections of the meeting.
The research seminar invited participants to highlight intersectoral practices and spaces, where the relationship between old age, work, and care involves inclusive, promotional, and flexible dimensions that accompany the cultural transformation we are experiencing as a society.
Credits: Bárbara Flores and M. Cristina Fernández, CEAS U. Mayor
