Intergenerational learning is concerned with the learning that occurs between people of different generations.  It connects generations through learning by interaction between people. In this paper, we will extend intergenerational learning to include the interaction with past generations as an idea which enriches our current lives. More concretely, we will explore the influence of previous family generations, even after their deaths, to inform our own life worlds, serially, through theirs. We had previously written about a grandmother as well as a mother in private texts. The concept of biographical learning, introduced by Peter Alheit, has been central in adult education research and will constitute a framework for analysis in this paper as it concerns biographies. Through our narrative approach we extended “learning within the lifespan” to beyond it by linking lifetimes to retrospectively examine the effects of historical context on individual experience of aging meaningful to successive generations. From research on older adults learning, we know that the interest in history, in ancestry and for family members tends to increase with age. Based on a general interest for ancestors, we wanted to understand more about a) why we chose to write about a particular relative, b) how this person has influenced our own lives and our view of family history, and c) what this could add to current theories about intergenerational learning, older adults learning and biographical learning. The Alheit framework will guide an analysis of the two stories in order to explore the biographies as a combination of autobiography and biography spanning generations, but the perspective of the story is that of the author even though the content is about the (grand)mother. This holds the potential to deepen the understanding of the meaning of previous lives in our own.

Historically high human longevity has resulted in a large population segment aged 75 to 100 in developed countries when the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020.  Since this later life phenomenon is unprecedented, the characteristics of this stage, its role and its status in society are still being socially constructed.  However, the pandemic is affecting the public perception of the age group 75 and over as frail, unproductive, consuming valuable health resources and unfairly economically privileged resulting in their being undervalued and misrepresented in public discourse. Thus, the value of life is becoming age dependent and ageism more acceptable.  Whether their role and status in society will be altered or enhanced will depend on the social construction process during the months of recovery, so this paper promotes a nuanced discussion to more fairly consider impacts that were specific to them, either in character or in intensity as well as their societal contributions during the pandemic. How countries individually and collectively manage the post pandemic recovery will determine if the later life stage will be impacted negatively or if they will share equally in positive generationally sensitive recovery outcomes. 

Läsning är enormt viktigt för barn och unga, det råder det ingen tvekan om. Läskompetensen bland barn i Finland är god men håller på att försämras. Satya Brink ger konkreta förslag på hur denna trend kan brytas.

The release of OECD Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) in October 2012 provides evidence and direction for the work of C21 and the learning movement in Canada. Recommendations are suggested based on the results.

• Unless older people are part of the solution, societies cannot achieve their environmental policy goals. ​​
• Innovative global policies are essential  to consult, develop and implement policies for people all over the world to work individually and collectively to protect  the environment.

Governments attempt to solve the housing problems of the elderly through two methods: either by promoting social equity in maximizing housing welfare for an entire population; or by promoting distributive justice in aiming programs toward helping those with special housing needs. Policies to attain these goals fall into two categories: mainstream and targeted policies, respectively, but many governments, having to answer to an electoral body, will enact legislation mixing these goals in order to gain popular support through the balance. This article examines and compares the policies of four leading nations addressing the problems of the elderly: France, Sweden, Canada and the US. 

The proportion of elderly persons in the population is rising in the developed countries. Housing and related social policies are undergoing change to respond to this socio-demographic change within the context of wider changes in policy thinking with respect to housing and aging. International trends in housing policy for elderly people may be discerned despite national variations. The governments of developed countries are beginning to be more engaged in multi-sectoral planning, in decentralization of responsibilities for housing, health and support services and in cost-sharing arrangements for housing and related policies. The quality of life for elderly persons has benefitted through increased opportunities for aging in place in their own homes and through better designed residential facilities. The nineties have been called"the age of age." The aging of the population presents immense challenges to the way human settlements are designed and organized. The responses to the challenge will be determined, nevertheless, more by societal choices than by socio-demographic changes. 

An examination of learning in later life in the context of lifelong learning shows that it is a phase on its own and not simply an extension of adult learning, particularly in the 21st century. It exhibits characteristics unlike earlier phases and has benefits that are more aligned with later life. The changes to the growing share of this demographic in the population has implications for the provision of learning opportunities. The life stage changes that are evolving are shown compared to previous generations. The needs and benefits of late life learning are described in contrast to adult learning and the adaptations for successful lifelong learning are listed based on life span theories and current research. 

Introductory paragraph:

A meaningful life through active aging

Since you only live once, it makes sense to make life the best it can be.  The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests the strategy of active aging to achieve this goal.  

The UN global digital compact ensures that digital technologies are used responsibly and for the benefit of all. Digital literacy is essential because: 1. Modern society increasingly relies on e-work, e-commerce, e-government, digital communication and e-social networks used by digitally literate citizens. 2. Quality of life depends on being able to choose, buy and operate digital devices for daily living. 3. Those unfamiliar with the rapidly evolving technology are victims of disinformation, scams or exclusion. According to Statistics Canada, 25% of Canadians are either non-users or basic users. Those in digital poverty include the poor, unemployed, poorly educated, immigrants, older workers and retired Canadians. There is a cost to society if the entire population is not digitally literate. Those that are not literate reduce the average population digital literacy skill level, which would slow progress reliant on digital-rich economic and social endeavours. Digital equity is essential.

Daily life includes use of digital technology and learning to use new technologies. The average daily screen use of an average American is 7 hours and 4 minutes. New technologies are introduced very rapidly, but there are no means to ensure digital literacy for all. People can learn about new technologies at school or work, but digital poor do not have the same advantages. Learning about new technologies is dependent on familiarity with earlier technologies, key boarding, screen use and digital logic skills in addition to access to information and knowledge through the internet. How will they learn to use Artificial intelligence- AI? Currently, self-directed learning and problem based questions to a knowledgeable person are the primary strategies for gaining digital literacy. This situation is worsened because of the need for expensive digital equipment, service contracts for internet services, remote learning, on-line tutorials and high reliance on peers rather than teachers.  

A multisectoral approach is necessary.  Governments can work to ensure that strong digital infrastructure is available at reasonable cost to residents of in the whole country. The private sector providing products and services much include education on how to use them and continuous tech support, not just provide a manual. Places where the digital poor may gather such as libraries, museums, cultural centres and banks should provide digital literacy courses and assistance to their clients. Education professionals must teach digital skills to the digital poor to be capable of  learning new digital skills  on their own.

The existential threat of climate change can draw living generations together through lifelong learning for a cohesive response. People in their later years must understand environmental impacts on themselves and future generations. A useful model of environmental learning must work well for every generation. This policy paper has two objectives based on the value of combining the theory of Nature Relatedness and Nudge theory for a model of environmental learning. First, to examine if the theory of Nature Relatedness which measures the individual’s relationship with nature is appropriate. It categorizes the relationship into four categories: passive, aware, responsive, and active based on observable characteristics of knowledge seeking, favourable attitudes, personal behaviour, and social action. Second, to investigate if learning based on Nudge theory can advance the relationship with nature to result in behavioural change. This model provides a useful framework to design environmental learning by all generations.

Preamble: Epale readers are becoming fully aware of the importance of functional literacy as a basis for Adult Learning, but somehow it seems that when we discuss literacy we forget it has to do with two connected skills, reading and writing. Following her blog on the importance of writing skills, Satya Brink's second piece addresses reading.

This paper examines the application of the principles of social equity and distributive justice in practice by governments under economic and demographic pressures. The housing policies that benefit the elderly are identified in Canada, the United States, Sweden and France and a policy analysis of the mainstream and targeted policies is carried out. The objectives of this paper are to observe the use of mainstream and targeted policies to house the elderly, to examine how elements benefiting the elderly are incorporated into mainstream policies and to identify the object! ves of targeted elements of policies benefiting the elderly. Governments tend to use mainstream policies and also to use various strategies for adding targeted elements to them. Targeted policies for the elderly are used sparingly. In practice, government actions for social equity and distributive justice are limited to ensuring access to a minimum level of welfare and reducing inequalities.

Preamble: Epale readers are becoming fully aware of the importance of functional literacy as a basis for Adult Learning, but somehow it seems that when we discuss literacy we forget it has to do with two connected skills i.e. reading, writing and speaking. In the framework of her blog series Satya Brink's final piece addresses speaking. 

Preamble: Epale readers are becoming fully aware of the importance of functional literacy as a basis for Adult Learning, but somehow it seems that when we discuss literacy we forget it has to do with two connected skills, reading and writing. We do need to focus on writing, even if, for natural reasons, this skill is not part of tests like PIAAC. Experience shows, however, that it is easier to motivate learners to develop their reading than their writing. Satya Brink, from Canada, has written a blog directed to the learners, explaining why they need to focus on their writing skills.

Can society beneft from an ageing population? This book explains how current and future generations can beneft from the longevity dividend in the coming decades, using multidisciplinary and international evidence.

How? It depends on the strategic choices of countries. And if they act before the opportunity closes. Growing life expectancy will increase the active years of later life by 25 years or more, resulting in more than a quarter of the population aged over 65 years in many countries. The social, economic and cultural impacts of this phenomenon are massive as the population shifts from a youthful population to one with a large older population. This population structure includes a greater number of adults with knowledge and skills than before that can contribute to society compared to fewer adults living shorter lives. Their contributions can be economically and socially productive by increasing growth, reducing costs as well as advancing social progress. The longevity dividend is realized because the total contributions of societal and economic value increase because there are more citizens contributing during longer lives. The longevity dividend is the windfall gain in economic growth and social progress gained during this once only population shift. Society retains this gain and then continues growth from the peak benefitting future generations. The two ways to increase the dividend are to increase the total contributions that beneft society and to improve the quality of these contributions over the lifetime of citizens through lifelong learning. Increased contributions during the prolonged lives of the entire population result in a productive society. Informed countries will make deliberate choices to gain a greater longevity dividend during this one-time opportunity to beneft from greater life expectancy.

Lifelong learning is essential to support optimum development, cope with life challenges, improve healthy autonomy and contribute to a just, sustainable, and prosperous society. The value of the legal right to lifelong learning is not well understood, tested, or applied, as lifelong learning is rarely extended to all people till the end of life. Education or learning was formally accepted as a human right under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. Together with UNESCO Recommendation against Discrimination in Education (1960), these two international agreements ensure access, relevance, and equity of lifelong learning. Possible reasons for low compliance and slow implementation of lifelong learning to the end of life are discussed. Canada’s efforts can serve as a model for lifelong learning policies for later life because, as a federated country, it requires national and provincial laws to work together to achieve the same desired outcome for lifelong learning across thirteen different provinces and territories. Furthermore, for the first time, the 2021 Canadian census provided detailed data for the population aged 65–100 years, and it supports evidence-based policy development regarding for whom, when, what, when, where, and how lifelong learning outcomes can be provided nationally. A  combination of need and capacity is a better measure than determining eligibility by age 65–100 years, and the quality of learning should be based on responsiveness to specific needs and its relevance to learners in the last four decades of life. The needs for knowledge range from life management, personal growth, societal contributions, and legacy for the future. Learning options should be continuous, encourage individual choice, and rely on geragogy. To be equitable, learning in later life should be delivered in formal, nonformal, or informal means in residential and institutional settings.

The study suggests a clarified concept of housing satisfaction, based on a review of behavioral literature. This concept relates housing satisfaction to aspirations, expectations, and housing im provement. It also indicates that housing satisfaction may change over time. Evidence for this concept was sought from a group of new home purchasers. A survey was taken first within a year of purchase and then 18 months later. Correlation analysis, linear regression, and tests for signif icant differences were used. The evidence indicated that housing satisfaction may be explained by realization of housing aspirations, fulfillment of expectations, and achievement of housing im provement. Cost of the house had a significant positive correlation with housing satisfaction. No significant decline in housing satisfaction over time was found. 

If language assets provide a comparative advantage in a globalising world, Canada appears well placed. This Canadian case study examines evidence from a country with two official languages and a high proportion of immigrants in the population. Canada’s language wealth has grown as shown by total number of languages spoken and the growth in the number of languages; growth in the proportion who know English and French, and other languages; and the number of people knowing more than one language. Several factors affecting the growth of language wealth in Canada were analysed. Multicultural and bilingual policies have been influential. Though hard to quantify the economic and social benefits to the individual and society, soft evidence was found for such benefits. Allophones who work in both official languages earn a good living while retaining their heritage language. Furthermore, the economic benefit to proficient users of English was shown through multivariate analysis.

The ranking pattern of quality attributes among the respondents of the sample from Canada was very different from those comprising the sample from Sweden. Both samples were drawn from city populations and some similarities were expected. In Sweden, continuity and personal suitability (personal qualities and professional competence) were the most important general quality attributes followed by personal relationship, times/availability and influence. The Canadian sample ranked personal suitability and the time/availability variables as the most important quality attributes followed by influence, continuity and personal relationship. Background factors linked to each sample appeared to affect the ranking pattern. In the Swedish sample, the ranking pattern was affected mainly by the same independent background variable, while in the Canadian sample the ranking pattern was a little more diversified. There were also differences in the satisfaction arising from home help services received by the two samples. The Swedish sample generally experienced a higher level of satisfaction for individual attributes of home help, but overall satisfaction with the home helper and the home services were similar, with both groups being "rather to very satisfied". Good subjective health in the Swedish group was significantly related to positive overall judgment of the home help. In the Canadian population, high age and low charge for the home help services were significantly related to positive evaluation of the home help. The policy implications of the results for the future are discussed.

The third Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE III) comes out as the international community works towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. By showing the important contribution that adult learning and education can make across many sectors of society. This report is guided by three goals: first, to analyse the results of a monitoring survey of UNESCO Member States, and to take stock of whether countries are fulfilling the commitments they made at CONFINTEA VI; second, to strengthen the case for adult learning and education with evidence of its benefits on health and well-being, employment and the labour market, and social, civic and community life; and third, to provide a platform for debate and action at national, regional and global levels.