Author: Dr. Lanning Tian, Chairwoman of Zhongguancun SSIDC Smart Health and Senior Care Industrial Alliance
On March 10, 2023, at the "6th China Chengdu International Elderly Care Expo and Elderly Carnival" held concurrently with the "2023 China (Chengdu) Jin Furong Elderly Care Forum," Dr. Lanning Tian, Chairwoman of Zhongguancun SSIDC Smart Health and Senior Care Industrial Alliance, delivered a keynote speech titled "From Teahouse Life to Longevity Society: The Bottom-up Design of Smart Elderly Care." The content of the speech was exclusively released by the SSIDC WeChat account.
Respected guests, good morning!
This is my second time in Chengdu within a month. One of the impressions that Chengdu has left on me is the ubiquitous tea house culture and the relaxed people. Today, at this grand elderly care expo, it reminds me of the serendipitous encounter from tea house life to an aging society. As an inevitable phenomenon in modern society, aging brings about many changes and challenges. But what is the underlying logic that remains unchanged? To address the problems brought about by aging and to enable the elderly to play their role in society, realizing the goal of intelligent elderly care that we are discussing today, this is the purpose of our exploration together.
The meaning of life in a tea house in an aging society
Looking back at the meaning of life in a tea house, as exhibited in the Chengdu Museum, the tea house is an important place in the local traditional culture. It is not only a place for people to relax and enjoy themselves, but also an important place for people to exchange ideas and pass on culture. The elders in the tea house often tell their experiences and wisdom, and these experiences and wisdom are often accepted and passed on by young people. This cultural phenomenon is reminiscent of an aging society, where such exchanges and transmissions of knowledge are highly valued. It gives us a sense of "today is very Chengdu".
By the end of 2020, the population of people aged 60 and above in Chengdu accounted for 17.86% of the total population, becoming a significant indicator of an aging society. Therefore, it can be said that Chengdu has entered an aging society.
The underlying design of smart elderly care should contain "humanity"
When it comes to the underlying architecture of smart elderly care, in addition to infrastructure, information platforms, intelligent devices, and service systems, the following aspects need to be specially considered:
Firstly, establish a service network for the elderly. This network should include medical care, care, community services, leisure and entertainment, and other aspects. We need to establish a comprehensive service network for the elderly to provide better services and support.
Secondly, encourage the elderly to participate in community building. The elderly are important members of the community and can make significant contributions to the community. We should encourage the elderly to actively participate in community building and play their role in the community.
Thirdly, provide appropriate education and training. The elderly also need to learn and develop their skills. We should provide appropriate education and training to help the elderly learn new knowledge and skills.
Fourthly, support the elderly in realizing their dreams and feeling their existence and social participation.
Multiple parties, including the government, enterprises, communities, and families, work together to promote progress
We need to emphasize that these concepts are the fundamental design of smart elderly care, in order to achieve the goal of making elderly people more intelligent, independent, and happy. This requires the joint efforts of various parties, including the government, enterprises, communities, and families, to truly achieve the goal of smart elderly care.
Firstly, the government needs to strengthen its support and investment in smart aging, establish sound policies and plans, and provide strong guarantees for smart aging. At the same time, the government needs to strengthen supervision and guidance on services and management for the elderly, to ensure the quality and effectiveness of smart aging services.
Secondly, businesses need to leverage their strengths, strengthen research and development, and promote smart aging products. Technological innovation in areas such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things can provide more convenient, intelligent, and humanized services for the elderly, and is an important way for businesses to achieve smart aging.
Communities, as important places for the elderly, need to play a greater role. Communities can establish mutual assistance organizations for the elderly, promote mutual care and assistance among the elderly, provide training and education on smart aging knowledge and skills, improve the elderly's technological level and self-protection ability, and establish diverse activities and cultural entertainment facilities to provide a more enriching life experience for the elderly. This afternoon, I will be visiting a very successful social work organization in Chengdu that creates a beautiful community. We will work with them to advocate for the active force of elderly people in the community.
Finally, the family is the basic unit of smart aging. Family members need to strengthen their care and companionship for the elderly, help them adapt to changes in society and physical conditions, and learn about smart aging. Families also need to actively advocate and support the elderly's participation in smart living, creating a happy, healthy, and dignified life for the elderly.
Zhongguancun SSIDC Smart Health and Senior Care Industrial Alliance is an innovative union
Innovation union refers to a cross-sectoral collaboration organization that involves multiple parties, such as enterprises, research institutions, universities, and governments, aiming to promote industrial upgrading and innovative development through resource integration and collaborative innovation.
In the field of smart elderly care, the establishment of an innovation consortium can achieve resource sharing and complementary advantages among all parties, promoting the development and innovation of smart elderly care services. Specifically, the following measures can be taken:
-
Resource integration: establish a smart elderly care innovation consortium, integrate various resources, including technology, talents, market channels, policy support, etc., to achieve resource sharing and complementary advantages.
-
Promote technological innovation: all parties jointly develop smart elderly care technology and products, accelerate the promotion and implementation of technological achievements through collaborative innovation.
3. Promote industrial transformation: combine the characteristics of the industry, promote the transformation and upgrading of smart elderly care services, accelerate the formulation and popularization of industry standards, and promote the healthy development of the smart elderly care industry.
4. Promotion and implementation: establish marketing channels and service networks, market-oriented, promote smart elderly care services to the market, and enhance the awareness and acceptance of elderly people towards smart elderly care services.
In conclusion, the innovation union is an effective cooperation model. SSIDC is willing to gather wisdom and work with all parties to promote innovation and development of smart elderly care services. We invite everyone to join us in promoting a beautiful life in an aging society.
