--- title: "Lessons from the Silver Economy Leadership Exchange: Culture as a tool for healthier and happier ageing" date: 2026-08-05T13:42:08Z modified: 2026-08-12T14:06:51Z permalink: "https://worldcitiescultureforum.com/2026/08/05/london-and-guangzhous-silver-economy-leadership-exchange-culture-as-a-tool-for-healthier-and-happier-ageing/" type: post status: publish excerpt: With urban populations aged 65 years and older projected to almost double by 2050 around the world, this question is more relevant than ever before. It speaks to the challenges that longer lives present – and, just as much, to the opportunities they create. It is about rethinking ageing as a long-life journey. So, how can cities tap into these opportunities? wpid: 176124 categories: - Uncategorized tags: - Uncategorized - ageing populations - healthy cities - silver economy - Guangzhou - London - Health & Wellbeing - Leadership Exchange - Urban Development region: - Guangzhou - London topic: - Health & Wellbeing - Leadership Exchange - Urban Development featured_image: "https://worldcitiescultureforum.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/image.png" timestamp: 2026-08-12T14:06:51Z --- ## Guest blog by Julieta Cuneo, Policy and Research Lead, 24 Hour London Team, Greater London Authority ![](https://worldcitiescultureforum.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/image-1024x683.png) World Cities Culture Forum Leadership Exchange Programme: London delegates visit to Guangzhou, July 2026> “What if we stopped seeing ageing as a problem to be managed and start acknowledging it as a resource to be activated?” How can cultural and social participation help cities plan for better, healthier and happier ageing around the clock? With urban populations aged 65 years and older projected to almost double by 2050 around the world, this question is more relevant than ever before. It speaks to the challenges that longer lives present – and, just as much, to the opportunities they create. It is about rethinking ageing as a long-life journey. So, how can cities tap into these opportunities? Last June, a London delegation visited Guangzhou as part of World Cities Culture Forum’s Leadership Exchange Programme to explore how to develop the Silver Economy. The week-long programme of site visits, policy discussions and conversations focused on understanding the role of culture in helping cities age better. The idea for the exchange emerged from a Night Time Policy Accelerator that Guangzhou, London and several other cities attended while in Dubai for the 13th World Cities Culture Summit in October 2024. One of the strongest takeaways from the exchange was the need for a fundamental reframe: what if we stopped seeing ageing as a problem to be managed and start acknowledging it as a resource to be activated? ![](https://worldcitiescultureforum.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/image-2-e1786540724693.png) ![](https://worldcitiescultureforum.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/image-1-1.png) **There were many lessons from the exchange. Here’s my top five:** - **Embrace Heritage to build a better future:** Guangzhou’s senior artisans are keeping UNESCO-recognised heritage crafts alive for new generations. -The Liwan District – hosts both a thriving night time economy and the Intangible Cultural Heritage Centre, home to 91 studios where valuable, traditional crafts are taught, displayed and sold to both locals and tourists. Senior Inheritors of Intangible Culture were central to the district’s careful regeneration project, which drew on past and human experience to deliver a modern identity. - **People retire, experience doesn’t:** The Silver Economy is about participation, not just care. Initiatives such as the Xingfu Club and the Guangzhou Institute for Senior Development focus on re-purposing senior talent and experience, both by building purpose and belonging in older age and by creating economic opportunities through ‘productive ageing’ and expanding the senior cultural services market. - **Intergenerational exchange is a catalyst for more inclusive cities**: most inspiring initiatives connect generations deliberately: channelling retired professionals into mentoring roles tackles ageism by valuing the skillsets of senior citizens while creating genuine opportunities for both older and younger people to collaborate and learn. It also helps bring different generations together, a common challenge in age-segregated cities where children, young people and the elderly rarely share the same spaces. - **Culture is health infrastructure for better ageing:** Music, dancing, craft, performance and lifelong learning lead to better physical health, mental wellbeing and community resilience. Cultural participation is key to healthy, resilient cities. - **A 24-hour city is built for people of all ages:** Extending activity into evenings and the night creates public value if it gives people reasons to spend time together. Night-time culture, public space, and programming that appeals to all ages can tackle loneliness, support healthier lifestyles, and build stronger communities across every stage of life. ![](https://worldcitiescultureforum.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/724442669_1439029568270451_3002183353365718932_n-1024x683.jpg) World Cities Culture Forum Leadership Exchange Programme: London delegates visit to Xingfu Centre, Guangzhou, July 2026The purpose of the exchange was to answer a question, and yet so many more emerged: how do we build cities that embrace people’s experience as they age? How do we strengthen the value of culture as social and health infrastructure? How do we make intergenerational connection something a city actively designs for, rather than leaving to chance? Guangzhou doesn’t have all the answers. Neither does London, nor any city in the world. But we are all starting to ask the right questions, and we know that culture is the golden thread that runs through everything that makes cities great, for both young and old. It also holds the potential of the many opportunities to come out of the Silver Economy, across the World Cities Culture Forum network and beyond. ![](https://worldcitiescultureforum.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/WhatsApp-Image-2026-06-15-at-16.00.51.jpeg) World Cities Culture Forum Leadership Exchange Programme: London delegates visit to Guangzhou, July 2026