Our human population is our greatest asset. How we take care of each individual from birth until death is a responsibility that we all have to engage in collectively. Gainful and honest employment allows us all to contribute to the productivity of our societies while defining our individual worth. Ageing is a natural part of the cycle of our existence.
Since 2015, The Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS) and the Social Work Unit, Department of Behavioural Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences of The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago, embarked on a threeyear research project titled: Work/Life Balance and Ageing in Trinidad. Funded by the Research Development Impact Fund of the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, the project focuses on a pressing development challenge that impacts the well being of the wider public. Work/Life Balance is the maintenance of supportive and healthy work and family environments that enable working people to balance work and personal responsibilities. Increasingly, people approach retirement age with more responsibilities for elder care and childcare, or they have to continue to earn a living. Retired persons are contributing to the care economy and work/life balance. Many also need health care or companionship and existing care homes. Medical facilities and leisure activities have not caught up with the longer life expectation that our population of both men and women currently enjoy. Ageing continues to be associated with negative stereotypes such as dependency, vulnerability, and diminishing capabilities. Urbanisation and changes in family support, traffic congestion to and from work and non-staggered work times place enormous stress on the care economy for children and older persons. Working people’s quality of life is diminished through these challenges, thereby adding to the mental and physical cost of population care.
From April 26th to 27th 2018 a Conference titled Connecting The Dots: Work • Life • Balance • Ageing will be held at Teaching & Learning Centre, The University of the West Indies, St Augustine. The Conference will bring together project partners including Trinidad and Tobago Association of Retired Persons (TTARP), United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America, and the Caribbean (UNECLAC), International Labour Organization, Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean (ILO/DWT), Women Working for Social Progress (Working Women) with policy makers, public sector official, corporate sector representatives, caregivers, civil society, regional and international scholars in the field of ageing, and members of the public.
Rather than a focus on academic papers this conference will create space for exchange and dialogue among participants and representatives of public and private sector. A series of short films and an exhibition will be featured alongside conversations.
The main goals of the project and the conference are to:
What the conference hopes to achieve:
