ENVELHECIMENTO, RESILIÊNCIA E EDUCAÇÃO: ARTICULAÇÕES PARA UMA COMPREENSÃO ECOLÓGICA DA SAÚDE

The growing trend of population aging and longevity worldwide is already having a marked impact on modern societies which, for the World Health Organization, must be discussed and acted upon. Although it is a positive phenomenon, getting older has practical repercussions on the lives of individuals and societies, which conflict with the sustainability and realization of human rights, such as health and education. In this scenario of global transformation, individuals experience challenges in a particular and non-normative way, for which they mobilize various resources in order to adapt resiliently. This theoretical essay sets out to discuss the paradoxes and similarities of ageing and health, looking for links with resilience, education and human development. The theoretical-methodological framework is based on contributions from Urie Bronfenbrenner's bioecological theory and the perspectives of ecological resilience and development, highlighting the emancipatory role of lifelong learning. The discussion is based on the global commitments of the Decade of Healthy Ageing, also taking into account the Portuguese context, where, after 50 years of democracy, it is estimated that more and more elderly people are living poorer quality lives and still have a low level of education. Although human ageing is on the international agenda, it still lacks a holistic understanding of older people, which goes beyond dichotomous views of “health/disease”, “risk/protection” and values a culture of lifelong learning. This is also a challenging civic commitment to health promotion and economic, cultural and scientific progress.