The 8th International Forum on Social Policy Wrapped Up

        The 8th International Forum on Social Policy wrapped up at Beijing on August 25, 2012. More than 200 academics and practitioners in the field of social policy contributed their perspectives. The forum was themed on “New thinking in the age of aging: Challenge, Opportunity and China’s strategy”. The event was jointly organized by Professional Committee of Social Policy of China Sociological Association, School of Social Development and Public Policy (SSDPP) at BNU and Intel China. 

        Four welcome address speeches started the forum’s two-day session. They were from: Zhu Jinchang, director of social policy research with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Hu Xiaojiang, executive vice dean of SSDPP, Wu Yushao, vice director of the China National Committee on Aging and Yang Zhongren, director of Intel China's corporate social responsibility Department. 

        These were followed by three keynote speeches on the topic of “Contemporary Social Policies in the Age of Aging” respectively by Vice President of Monash University (Australia) Philip Taylor, Senior Fellow at the Global Green Growth Institute (Korea-based) Simon Zadek and Professor Zheng Bingwen from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The presenters introduced the current social policies and working approaches for senior citizens in their respective countries, and put forward their remedies to improve the wellbeing of senior citizens in future. Other participant got involved in the forum later in the following sub-forums and roundtable discussions. The Forum came to an end when Yang Tuan from Centre for Social Policy Studies of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, representing all participants announced “the Beijing Consensus in the Age of Aging” as the product of this forum. 

        The 8th International Forum on Social Policy was aimed to clarify the current policies, institutions and the values behind them. By revealing that these are no long fit for new challenges today, the forum facilitated active discussions to find the best solution to create a more caring society for all senior citizens in the world.