Why does Longevity represent one of the most important challenges of the coming years?
«In recent years, the academic and scientific research worlds have developed the concept of a longevity society : a society in which humanity will see an increase in life expectancy, but above all an improvement in the quality of sight itself, both physically and mentally. According to the United Nations World Social Report 2023 [1] , by 2050 the number of people aged 65 and over is expected to double, exceeding 1,6 billion individuals and, globally, a child born in 2021 could expect to live on average almost 25 years longer than a newborn in 1950.
To support an increasingly long-lived society , the challenge is to promote a healthy lifestyle and develop new social paradigms for welfare policies, the economy, labor, and urban planning. This change will require the development of a new political, social, and administrative awareness to maximize the opportunities that come with a longer life and to ensure that the benefits of longevity research can have positive impacts on the entire population. This challenge offers great opportunities for adaptation and growth, especially since the baby boomer generation has entered old age, with all the impact of their numbers and spending power. But it also presents critical issues, such as the decline in the number of people of working age and the concomitant increase in healthcare needs. These trends could strain public budgets, undermining cohesion between European regions and countries, and effectively altering the (positive) relationship between health and economic indicators. This begs the question of what development models could be adopted to proactively address a critical issue affecting our societies globally. Paradoxically, on the one hand we are witnessing a real gold rush, I call it the Longevity Rush , just as there used to be a gold rush : private investors, companies, funds, the silver economy... On the other hand, we risk the collapse of welfare and public budgets."
How did the choice to talk about Longevity in Lugano during an international summit which will see the presence of qualified international scholars come about?
Ticino is one of Europe's longest-living regions and, in many respects, faces an issue that must be addressed from an interdisciplinary perspective. Transitioning from an aging society to a longevity society requires a multigenerational vision and targeted strategies to support all segments of the population.
If we analyze the problem from the perspective of young people, we cannot ignore the challenges a society dominated by older people can create for them. This was highlighted in a Japanese film released last year, "Plan 75," which begins with a young man shooting himself in the mouth to protest an aging society that no longer gives space to young people, thus prompting the government to develop a mass euthanasia plan for those over seventy-five. It's a paradox, but it should make us reflect on the need to develop programs for a sustainable society, where there's room for everyone, where generational exchange is possible, through a shared commitment among all citizens, institutions, political representatives, scholars, and researchers. For this reason, we will present the Cities of Longevity project in Lugano, thanks to the presence of Nic Palmarini, director of NICA, the National Innovation Center for Aging, and we hope Lugano will join. This is a platform shared by cities around the world to jointly address urban planning while taking into account the growth of their citizens' lives. Buenos Aires, Berlin, Vienna, and Lisbon are already part of it. They essentially bring together statistics, ideas, projects, and results to create a know-how that allows for planning urban growth that is aware of new needs and challenges. Over the years, Lugano has become a regional and cantonal hub for the so-called silver economy , the sector of economic activities operating in the care of the elderly, with projects and activities aimed specifically at inclusion and exchange among residents of all ages. All this, combined with the international consolidation of its universities, USI and SUPSI, investments in new campuses, the creation of a Faculty of Biomedicine, and the growth of its biomedical research institutes, makes Lugano the ideal place to reflect on the theme of longevity. Italian-speaking Switzerland, with its scientific institutions, is increasingly becoming a hub for reflection and research on the topic of longevity and aging , complex issues often approached with prejudice and little knowledge.
The Lugano summit, organized by the BrainCircle Lugano Association, is promoted by several prestigious institutions.
The issue is deeply felt at all levels, starting with the City Council, which granted us its patronage, and the University of Italian Switzerland (Faculty of Biomedical Sciences). With USI, we previously organized a symposium on racism, a highly publicized event. Then there are the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI) (DEASS, Senior Citizens' Skills Center), and the Sir John Eccles Foundation, with whom we have had a long-standing and close collaboration. The nonprofit BrainCircle Lugano, which I founded five years ago with an extraordinary group of people who enthusiastically dedicate themselves to organizing scientific cultural events open to all, has the mission of collaborating with other local organizations to promote awareness and culture among the population, which are the foundation of a democracy like the Swiss one, which is based on the continuous participation of citizens in political and administrative decisions. Our event is aimed at the general public, but also at scholars, administrators, doctors, and healthcare professionals, with prestigious international and national researchers and intellectuals on the topic of longevity and healthy aging.
There is great anticipation for some of the leading international experts, authors of world bestsellers, real stars, present in Lugano to talk about the most cutting-edge research on the topic of aging...
There is no doubt about the appeal of names like David Sinclair , professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School and co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research, and Nir Barzilai , professor of medicine and genetics, director of the Institute for Aging Research at the Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging and the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Human Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. They are joined by Shai Efrati , who has developed a hyperbaric medicine project to rejuvenate the body and brain that is also attracting great interest in Ticino, and Nic Palmarini , whom I have already mentioned. But if these are the names that arouse the most curiosity, also because the grass is always greener on the other side, let's not underestimate the great Swiss and Italian scientists who honor us with their presence, such as Giovanni Pedrazzini , of the Cardiology Unit at the Cardiocentro Institute in Lugano, who has been dean of the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences at the Università della Svizzera italiana since 2021. Or the philosopher Francesca Rigotti, who has published more than thirty books and has taught at one of the most prestigious universities in the world for philosophy, Göttingen; and Andrea Alimonti, professor at USI and the ETH Zurich, a multiple award-winning researcher in oncology and the mechanisms of cellular senescence; and Emiliano Albanese, professor of Public Health at USI and director of the WHO Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health. And also, Maria Giulia Bacalini , head of the Brain Aging Laboratory at the University of Bologna; Fabrizio Mazzonna , director of the Department of Economics at USI and member of the Board of Directors of the Swiss Society of Health Economics (SGGOE); Laurie Corna , who teaches aging and quality of life at SUPSI; and sociologist Stefano Cavalli, head of the Swiss100 project for Italian-speaking Switzerland, the first study on centenarians in Switzerland. I would like to thank Fabio Meliciani , science journalist and event organizer, with whom I have collaborated for years, for having been able to assemble such a prestigious group of speakers.
Can we recall your long professional career in the field of scientific dissemination and in particular neuroscience?
«In 2010 I founded BrainCircleItalia, a non-profit association for the dissemination of the most cutting-edge research in the field of neuroscience, with the support of Nobel Prize winner Rita Levi Montalcini, and Pietro Calissano, then President of EBRI (European Brain Research Institute). This project then gave rise to BrainCircleLugano in 2019, which operates in the Ticino area with the same objectives. Over the years I have been constantly involved in the field of scientific dissemination, collaborating with the most important newspapers in print, radio and television and I have organized conferences, seminars, forums, television and online meetings, documentaries, lectures in theatres, film festivals on neuroscience , in collaboration with the main Italian institutions, universities and international research centres".
Specifically, what are the areas in which BrainCircleLugano operates?
«Our goal is to disseminate neuroscience with a language that is immediately understandable to the general public, without compromising on scientific rigor, to present the most advanced and innovative research, provoking reflection on their ethical impact in everyday life, and on the scenarios of the near future, to bring young people in research, promoting a multidisciplinary approach, facilitating exchange and knowledge between local researchers and scientists from all over the world.”
[1] Leaving No One Behind In An Aging World – World Social Report 2023, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, https://social.desa.un.org/sites/default/files/publications/2023-02/WorldSocialReport2023.pd
