Embracing the Silver Age: Cross-Border Intelligence for an Inclusive Technological Future in Aging Societies

The wave of an aging society brings unparalleled challenges and opportunities, touching every aspect of our economy, society, and healthcare. Faced with a growing elderly population, our challenge is not just to meet their basic living needs, but further, how to empower them with a fulfilling, healthy, and vibrant late life. Technology opens the door for us to achieve this vision, extensively involving many fields such as food, medicine, housing, transportation, education, and entertainment. By building cross-departmental and cross-disciplinary collaborative mechanisms, we can not only enhance our capabilities but also create a truly inclusive society for all age groups.

By integrating technological resources from both public and private sectors, we can leverage their potential to drive the silver economy, shaping an ecosystem of products and services that fully supports the diverse needs of seniors. For instance, in Sweden, the "Careousel" smart pill dispenser offers seniors a convenient medication management solution, reminding them to take medication according to time and type, thereby enhancing their ability to live independently. We can learn from such products and stimulate our silver market economy by integrating smart home systems and personalized health monitoring. As for specific goals, we aim to increase the turnover of health and wellness to NT$300 billion by 2025. To achieve this goal, establishing a platform for industry-government-academia-research exchange or collaboration is particularly important. This will not only strengthen resource integration among different sectors but also ensure effective alignment between innovative strategies and market demands, thereby achieving local happy aging for seniors and accelerating the growth of the silver tech industry.

Regarding the digital divide, we can empower seniors digitally by promoting technology application and learning. Taking Japan's "IT Machi-okoshi (IT Town Revitalization)" program as an example, this program successfully helped seniors overcome the digital gap and enhanced their social participation by providing digital skills training. We will ensure that the promotion of technology application is not limited to a single area but is widely applied in various living contexts, including healthcare, social interaction platforms, and smart home systems. For example, we can emulate some Australian cities by developing interactive social platforms specifically designed for seniors and providing corresponding technology education to encourage seniors to actively participate in community activities. Such strategies will ensure the quality of life for seniors in multiple ways, helping them build a safe, comfortable, and connected living environment.

The successful implementation of inclusive technology strategies undoubtedly requires a comprehensive and carefully planned approach. We can draw upon the successful experiences of other countries in this field. For instance, the Finnish government has achieved good results in integrating resources from industry, government, academia, and research units through its "Finnish National Ageing Strategy." Its project "Vitality and Care" emphasizes cross-sector collaboration to promote resource sharing and integration across different fields, thereby better meeting the diverse needs of the elderly population. In Singapore, through the "Smart Nation Initiative," the government actively promotes digital skills training and funds relevant innovative projects to improve the quality of life for the national aging society. Learning from these experiences, our government can play an active role in policy formulation, funding, and regulatory support, for example, by providing research grants, formulating corresponding tax policies, and creating a regulatory environment conducive to technological innovation. Businesses and research institutions, on the other hand, can focus on product development and innovation in market applications to ensure the practicality and forward-looking nature of products. Through collaborative efforts from all parties, we will be able to build a comprehensive solution for the aging society and lay a solid foundation for an inclusive future life.