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Don't call people 'old' until death is near | Sarah Harper in The Guardian


To mark 500 years since Martin Luther's Reformation, the Hay Festival is hosting a series of its own reformations, in which leading thinkers re-imagine the world's institutions and authorities.

Professor Sarah Harper delivered a talk which examined how health improvements and a declining birth rate, economic uncertainty and political turbulence is affecting an ageing population in Britain and around the world.

The debate at Hay resonates with the Guardian’s series on “the new retirement” this year. The Guardian article “Don't call people 'old' until death is near, says gerontologist” quotes issues around ageing discussed by Sarah Harper at the Hay Festival.  Harper said active adults in later life should not be considered old and they were often the victims of prejudice. “We live in a society where we know sexism is wrong, we know that racism is wrong, but actually there are many, many examples where stereotyping according to age is seen as acceptable.”

Read the article: “Don't call people 'old' until death is near, says gerontologist”

The Hay Festival Interview with Sarah Harper