Forum: Design active ageing around the lives seniors want to lead
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What will a 55-year-old Singaporean today want from an active ageing centre (AAC) when they turn 70 in 2041? The person may still be working, using artificial intelligence routinely and looking for strength training, lifelong learning, mentoring or opportunities to contribute. Another 70-year-old may need support with frailty, loneliness, cognitive decline, financial strain or digital exclusion. The challenge for tomorrow’s AAC may therefore be less about age than about diversity.
Singapore has built a strong foundation. There are more than 230 AACs, and Age Well SG is already evolving the model. Programmes are moving beyond centres into neighbourhood spaces, while Age Well Neighbourhoods are bringing health and social support closer together.
The AAC could increasingly function as a neighbourhood network, not only a destination. A physical centre will remain vital for those who value face-to-face support. But active ageing can also happen in parks, libraries, community spaces, health services and digital channels.
Programmes for seniors can also be moved towards purpose with seniors. Older adults should have more opportunities to teach, mentor, organise, volunteer and create, alongside programmes they enjoy. Active ageing should help people carry forward identities and strengths built over decades as teachers, engineers, caregivers, artists, entrepreneurs or community leaders.
Digital inclusion should also mature into confidence and judgment in an AI-shaped society. The challenge will not only be helping older adults access digital services, but also letting them use AI confidently for learning and daily life while recognising scams, misinformation, privacy risks and sensible boundaries. Human relationships and trusted support must remain central.
The World Health Organization describes healthy ageing in terms of functional ability, the ability to do what one values, supported by one’s environment. That offers a powerful principle: We should design active ageing around the lives people want to continue living, not simply the age they have reached. Services should increasingly reflect functional ability, aspirations, interests and circumstances, not chronological age alone.
Singapore’s achievement has been to build an islandwide foundation for active ageing. Perhaps the AAC of the future will be defined not only by what happens within its walls, but also by how well it enables older Singaporeans to remain connected, capable and contributing beyond them.
Surein Sandrasageran
