International Cooperation

More Years, Better Lives – The Potential and Challenges of Demographic Change

Demographic change has been internationally acknowledged as one of the most serious issues of our time, namely in the developed world. It concerns the severe increase of life expectancy and fall in fertility rates, combined with complex patterns of migration. The joint programming initiative MYBL - More Years, Better Lives – The Potential and Challenges of Demographic Change aims at responding in a concerted manner to that challenge. Supported by the European Union, it is composed of 14 European countries, together with Canada, with the purpose of aligning national strategies with a view at fostering collaborative research on the political implications of demographic change.

MYBL 2016 Joint Transnational Call

After implementing its first call in 2015 on new labour markets, MYBL launched its second call in 2016. Even though Portugal is not part of the initiative, FCT joined the call understanding the high relevance of this topic for Portuguese society.

Proposals focused on one or more of the following topics:

1. Understanding wellbeing: how appropriate are current measures of wellbeing across the changing life course?

2. Intergenerational relationships: how can welfare models distribute resources, rights and responsibilities in fair and sustainable ways?

3. Welfare models: How can welfare models secure the health and wellbeing for older people confronted to caring needs, subject to frailty and nearing the end of life?

Funding agencies from 11 countries participated in the CTC, including FCT.

More information about this call can be found at the call page on the MYBL website.