The UN has a historic opportunity: to stop talking about old age and start talking about longevity

The decision by the United Nations to advance an International Convention on the Rights of Older Persons represents a historic step. For years, organizations around the world have driven the need for an instrument that recognizes and protects the rights of a population that is growing rapidly in all countries. However, the true opportunity lies not only in creating a new convention, but in defining the perspective from which it will be built. The way we describe a problem shapes the solutions we imagine to address it.

Until now, much of the agenda related to older adults has focused on concepts such as vulnerability, dependency, care, and protection. Undoubtedly, these issues are relevant and require attention. But current demographic reality forces us to broaden our focus. We live longer, reach advanced ages in better conditions, and go through stages of life that were unthinkable for previous generations. Talking exclusively about vulnerability is insufficient to understand the demographic revolution we are experiencing.

Longevity is one of humanity's greatest achievements. However, we continue to organize our institutions under assumptions that belong to another century. Pension systems, career paths, professional training, and even many public policies were designed for societies where people lived much shorter lives. Today, millions of older adults continue to work, undertake new projects, acquire new skills, generate income, care for others, and actively contribute to their communities. The question is no longer just how to protect those who age, but how to create conditions so they can continue developing their potential.

Therefore, the new Convention has the potential to become a truly innovative instrument. Rather than defining rights from a place of fragility, it could recognize the right of all people to fully participate in economic and social life without age becoming a barrier. This implies promoting inclusive work environments, access to lifelong learning, entrepreneurial opportunities, mechanisms to combat ageism, and policies that allow for harnessing the talent and experience accumulated throughout life. Age should not be a barrier to working, learning, starting a business, or participating in economic and social life.

This discussion also highlights an unfinished item on the international agenda. Unlike other population groups, older adults do not have a specific Sustainable Development Goal within the 2030 Agenda. While aging appears cross-cuttingly in various SDGs related to health, work, reduction of inequalities, or sustainable cities, longevity still lacks an explicit place in global priorities. This is striking considering that ageism remains one of the last socially accepted forms of discrimination and that demographic change is one of the most profound transformations of our time. It is not enough for longevity to appear scattered across different goals; its impact deserves its own recognition within the global agenda.

The challenge is especially relevant in a context where falling birth rates and rising life expectancy are modifying the composition of our societies. In the coming decades, we will need more people working for longer, more intergenerational exchange, and new ways of generating productivity. Continuing to view the older population primarily as a burden or a dependent group is not only unfair; it also represents a strategic error for countries that will increasingly need to harness all available human capital.

The Convention now under discussion can mark a turning point. It can consolidate a vision centered solely on protection or help build a new narrative for the age of longevity: one where people are recognized for their capabilities rather than their date of birth. At The Shift Foundation, we are following this process with special interest and have recently submitted our application for consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), convinced that the conversation on longevity needs to incorporate a perspective centered on participation, productivity, innovation, and the opportunities that arise from a society that lives longer. The challenge of this century is not to manage aging, but to seize the opportunities of a longer-living society. Because longevity has changed the rules. Now rights must change.