Paving the way towards an age-inclusive society

My role in SAACY has been to deliver Policy Labs[ii], as a mechanism to mobilise the research into policy and practice, to create real-world change. In October 2024, we delivered a Policy Lab which brought together 30 diverse stakeholders – of all different ages – from the worlds of policy, academia, charity, the media, and advertising, to explore how we can change the way that ageing is represented in the media (see report here)[iii]. We focused on the media because it’s a multi-billion-pound industry with enormous reach, that has a powerful influence over how we think about the world around us.

The Policy Lab determined that it is not only important to increase the visibility of older people and the ageing process, but we also need to consider how we represent ageing and older people. We endorse that representations of ageing should be honest, diverse and open to the positive possibilities that ageing can offer.

We identified opportunity for media content to be more intergenerational, and for it to be developed by age-diverse teams. We also identified systemic opportunities for change, drawing upon regulation, funding, data and education-based strategies.

Specifically, an important step would be to make the commercial case in advertising. If we can show that shifting representations of ageing will lead to a bigger return on investment, then it is in businesses’ own interests to improve how they represent ageing. Additionally, we could lobby for change to the Editors’ Code of Practice to protect against age discrimination in the same way that other forms of discrimination are protected against. We could design processes to ‘complain better’, having nuanced conversations around ageist content and identifying patterns, rather than having to point to a discrete moment on the tv. Finally, we can develop initiatives to promote and celebrate best practice, such as developing a screenplay prize for depicting ageing and older people in ways that are honest, diverse, and open to the positive possibilities that ageing has to offer.

Such findings are detailed in a Policy Lab report³, launched at the House of Lords on the 13^th May. The Rt Hon. The Lord Foulkes of Cumnock, co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Ageing and Older People, endorsed our thinking as a real blueprint for shifting representations of ageing, one that provides solutions to pave the way for best practice. The SAACY programme continues to disseminate these ideas to galvanise efforts on rethinking ageing, including through delivering a conference (‘The Lifespan: Perspectives on Ageing and the Life Course’), 4^th-6^th June at King’s College London, and an exhibition at the Science Gallery (‘Lifelines: Rethinking Ageing Across Generations’) which you can visit until 2^nd August 2025.

And we’re delighted to see people driving forward this thinking in their own work too, paving the way towards an age-inclusive society. For example, the latest report from the UK Government’s Women and Equalities Committee recognises that harmful ageing stereotypes are prevalent across all media in the UK, recommending the strengthening of advertising and broadcasting codes and guidance, as well as the inclusion of age in the Editors’ Code of Practice.[iv] Subsequently, the Editors’ Code Committee, with support from the Independent Press Standards Organisation, has made some immediate changes in guidance, such as removing language around public figures being ‘past their prime’.[v] In addition, the Advertising Standards Authority has launched its own research into how older people are represented in advertising, the harm this may cause, and how to protect against such harms.[vi] Sector-leading ageing charities, Age UK and the Centre for Ageing Better, also continue to encourage people to think differently about the ageing process. The Centre for Ageing Better celebrated this year’s Age Without Limits Day on the 11^th June, with a theme of ‘Celebrate Ageing, Challenge Ageism’, to promote the celebration of ageing across the life course.[vii]

Shifting public perceptions is an enormous task, but we’re paving the way for progress. By driving action in this space, the SAACY programme is advancing local, national and international policy ambitions to promote ageing well. With ageing increasingly on the agenda, there is good momentum for change.

We continue to welcome collaborations and suggestions. Please contact us on Martina.Zimmermann@kcl.ac.uk.

[i] Centre for Ageing Better. (2021). Reframing Ageing: Public perceptions of ageing, older age and demographic change. https://ageing-better.org.uk/resources/reframing-ageing-public-perceptions-ageing-older-age-and-demographic-change

[ii] Hinrichs-Krapels et al. (2020). Using Policy Labs as a process to bring evidence closer to public policymaking: a guide to one approach. Palgrave Communications, 6, 101. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-020-0453-0

[iii] Zimmermann, M., Haggar, T., Boulding, H., & Pow, R. (2025). Shifting Representations of Ageing in Advertising, the Media, and the Creative Industries. The Policy Institute. https://www.kcl.ac.uk/policy-institute/assets/shifting-representations-of-ageing-in-advertising-the-media-and-the-creative-industries.pdf

[iv] Women and Equalities Committee, ‘The Rights of Older People’ (London: UK Parliament, 2025), https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/46686/documents/239426/default/

[v] Independent Press Standards Organisation, ‘Open Letter Submitted to Parliament’ (London: UK Parliament, 2025), https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/47150/documents/244200/default/

[vi] Advertising Standards Authority, ‘Looking into the Depiction of Older People in Advertising’ (London: ASA, 2025), https:// www.asa.org.uk/news/looking-into-the-depiction-of-older-people-in-advertising.html

[vii] Age without Limits, ‘Age without Limits Day’ (London: Centre for Ageing Better, 2025), https://www.agewithoutlimits.org/day

[1] Centre for Ageing Better. (2021). Reframing Ageing: Public perceptions of ageing, older age and demographic change. https://ageing-better.org.uk/resources/reframing-ageing-public-perceptions-ageing-older-age-and-demographic-change

[1] Hinrichs-Krapels et al. (2020). Using Policy Labs as a process to bring evidence closer to public policymaking: a guide to one approach. Palgrave Communications, 6, 101. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-020-0453-0

[1] Zimmermann, M., Haggar, T., Boulding, H., & Pow, R. (2025). Shifting Representations of Ageing in Advertising, the Media, and the Creative Industries. The Policy Institute. https://www.kcl.ac.uk/policy-institute/assets/shifting-representations-of-ageing-in-advertising-the-media-and-the-creative-industries.pdf

[1] Women and Equalities Committee, ‘The Rights of Older People’ (London: UK Parliament, 2025), https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/46686/documents/239426/default/

[1] Independent Press Standards Organisation, ‘Open Letter Submitted to Parliament’ (London: UK Parliament, 2025), https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/47150/documents/244200/default/

[1] Advertising Standards Authority, ‘Looking into the Depiction of Older People in Advertising’ (London: ASA, 2025), https:// www.asa.org.uk/news/looking-into-the-depiction-of-older-people-in-advertising.html

[1] Age without Limits, ‘Age without Limits Day’ (London: Centre for Ageing Better, 2025), https://www.agewithoutlimits.org/day