A regional conversation with global relevance
Asia is at the forefront of global population ageing. What happens here will influence how the rest of the world understands and responds to longer lives.
The Conference plays a critical agenda‑setting role in this context, helping to shape regional and global policy debates on ageing. It connects regional priorities with key global frameworks, including the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing, the Sustainable Development Goals, and commitments to Universal Health Coverage.
The 2026 conference, taking place in Hangzhou, China from 27-30 October, focuses on how societies can adapt social and economic systems to this reality – moving beyond short‑term or sector‑by‑sector responses. Rather than treating ageing as a standalone issue, the conference frames it as a whole‑of‑society transformation that affects people across the life course.
For HelpAge, this perspective is essential. Ageing intersects with inequality, gender, health, care, work and social protection. Addressing it effectively requires integrated, long‑term policy approaches that recognise older people not as a burden, but as rights holders and active contributors to society.
Why China matters for learning
A distinctive feature of the 2026 conference is the opportunity to examine how China is responding to rapid population ageing at an unprecedented scale – including the opportunities, trade‑offs and unresolved challenges this creates.
China has the largest population of older people in the world, with more than 216 million people aged 65 or above – around 15% of the total population – a figure projected to rise to 400 million by 2050. Its demographic transition is unfolding at extraordinary speed, requiring major adaptations across social protection systems, labour markets, care provision and urban planning.
By convening this international dialogue in China, the conference offers a valuable opportunity to explore lessons from large‑scale system change and to consider what these experiences might mean for other countries across Asia and beyond that are beginning to navigate similar demographic shifts.
The questions shaping ageing societies
The conference is organised around a set of policy and system‑level questions that will shape ageing societies over the next decade, including:
- How can labour markets, pension systems and economies adapt to longer lives?
- What role can technology and artificial intelligence play, and where are the risks?
- How can sustainable and equitable long‑term care systems be built at scale?
- What does it take to create age‑friendly societies in both urban and rural settings?
These issues are reflected in the conference sub‑themes on the silver economy, technology and AI, sustainable caring societies, and age‑friendly environments – all areas where HelpAge works to influence policy and practice.
Who the conference is for
The conference is designed for people working at the intersection of policy, practice and evidence on population ageing.
Participants will include:
- Policymakers at national and sub‑national levels
- Researchers and academics
- Civil society leaders and practitioners
- UN agencies and development partners
- Private sector innovators across health, care, technology, finance and insurance.
The conference provides a dedicated space for engagement and exchange among those working on ageing, social protection, care, health systems, urban development, labour markets and inequality.
Why attend
By bringing together decision‑makers, practitioners and technical experts, the conference aims to strengthen collective understanding of how societies can respond to longer lives in ways that are inclusive, sustainable and rights‑based.
Participants will have opportunities to:
- Engage with senior policy influencers shaping ageing, health and social protection agendas
- Contribute to agenda‑setting discussions that influence regional policy direction
- Access emerging evidence, innovation and practice from across Asia and globally
- Build relationships and partnerships across sectors and disciplines.
Together, we can help shape how societies respond to population ageing – ensuring older people are not left behind as economies and systems adapt to a changing demographic reality.
