On 17 April 2017, the School of Social Sciences hosted a public forum for over 50 participants at the School of Social Sciences Seminar Room 5-1 on the topic of Challenges and Opportunities in Family Care for Older Persons in ASEAN+3. Population ageing and the well-being of older persons are major emerging challenges for families, communities, and governments in much of Asia. Traditionally, support and care for the elderly are met within the family. The state and communities typically provide limited care services for the older population. Currently, most Asian countries are facing demographic and socioeconomic changes that pose significant challenges for the roles that family members, especially adult children, play in providing support for the elderly. Looking ahead, governments will increasingly grapple with the question of what is an appropriate and sustainable role of the state in helping families address old-age support.
It was our privilege to have Ms Claire Chang (Chairperson, Shirin Fozdar Programme and Co-Founder, Banyan Tree Holdings) join us at our event to give a welcome speech. Following that, a group of interdisciplinary social scientists including Dr Bina Gubhaju (Duke-NUS Medical School), Associate Professor Jung-Hwa Ha (Seoul National University), Professor John Knodel (University of Michigan), Assistant Professor Christine Ho (Singapore Management University) and Professor Emiko Ochiai (Kyoto University) shared their own empirical findings from selected ASEAN+3 countries (China, South Korea, and Japan) on how the family provides various types of support for their older-aged members and highlighted the challenges and opportunities that are facing the contemporary Asian family. The forum concluded with a lively Q&A session chaired by Professor Chen Feinian (University of Maryland), which touched on the policy implications of these empirical findings.
Ms Claire Chang (Chairperson, Shirin Fozdar Programme and Co-Founder, Banyan Tree Holdings)
Associate Professor Bussarawan Puk Terrawichitchainan (SMU School of Social Sciences)
Dr Bina Gubhaju (Duke-NUS Medical School)
Associate Professor Jung-Hwa Ha (Seoul National University)
Professor John Knodel (University of Michigan)
Assistant Professor Christine Ho (SMU School of Economics)
Professor Emiko Ochiai (Kyoto University)
