The demographic shift towards an older global population is often presented as a coming crisis—a burden on healthcare systems, a strain on pension funds, and an irreversible challenge to economic productivity. The narrative is framed in terms of dependency ratios and fiscal deficits. But this fear-driven perspective fundamentally misses the greatest opportunity of our time: the chance to harness an unprecedented pool of accumulated human wisdom.

We stand at the Horizon of Wisdom, a point where society must fundamentally shift its view of aging—from a liability to be managed to an asset to be leveraged. This transformation is not a sentimental gesture; it is an economic and social imperative. This perspective is brilliantly echoed in the theme of the 2025 United Nations International Day of Older Persons: “Older Persons Driving Local and Global Action: Our Aspirations, Our Well-Being, and Our Rights,” which explicitly recognizes the elderly as powerful agents of change.

The longevity dividend is real. People are not just living longer, they are........

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