Abstract
Successful ageing has been associated with maintenance of activity, focusing on both individual aspirations to engage in personally meaningful activities, and on roles and functions that challenge, facilitate and motivate individual activity in a given society, culture and continuity in lifestyles and competences. Old age must be considered in a cross-generational context, namely, in the sense of taking responsibility for younger generations. Sophisticated knowledge systems and strategies are bases for a productive and creative life in old age. Creativity is not a matter of age, but of a history of creativity. In analyzing religiousness and spirituality, this expert report differentiates between an ‘intrinsically’ and an ‘extrinsically’ motivated religiousness, pointing to the significance of the former (but not the latter) for not only chances, challenges and boundaries of development in old age but also for readiness to forgive. Moreover, the report emphasizes the maintenance of intergenerational justice, in the sense of equal possibilities for all generations to live a ‘good life’. Engagement of older people is believed to contribute to the maintenance of intergenerational justice, which could be further supported by flexibility in age limits.
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