Over five days, RCSI celebrated Positive Ageing Week 2018 in partnership with Age Action. RCSI staff and students participated in a programme of activities designed to encourage participants to rethink perceptions of ageing.

The theme for this year's Positive Ageing Week is ‘celebrating the 100-year life'. Life expectancies have been rising by up to three months a year since 1840, and there is no sign of that changing. A recent study shows that more than half the babies born in wealthier countries since 2000 may reach their 100th birthdays*.

Professor Cathal Kelly, RCSI Chief Executive, said: "RCSI is fully committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion among staff and students for the advancement of the College's mission to educate, nurture and discover for the benefit of human health. As a result of partnering with Age Action, our colleagues and students had the opportunity to learn more about the steps we can take to at every life stage to improve mental and physical health for a long and happy life."

Billy O Keefe, Programme Manager at Age Action, commented: "Age Action was delighted to partner with RCSI for our Tech Tuesday event which highlighted the possibilities smart technologies offer to increase the number of years people can live independently in their own homes. RCSI's reputation for excellence and adopting the latest technologies to improve healthcare outcomes makes this collaboration a natural fit."

Coordinated by RCSI's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Unit, the programme of events also included ‘Wellbeing Wednesday' which promoted health and wellness tips across all stages of life, and the College's first ‘Intergenerational Day' which invited friends and family to learn about research, education and innovation through hands-on workshops at RCSI's St Stephen's Green campus.

*Christensen, Kaare, et al. “Ageing Populations: the Challenges Ahead.” The Lancet, vol. 374, no. 9696, 2009, pp. 1196–1208., doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(09)61460-4.