<
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/sep/18/dont-fear-the-boomers-how-poland-is-celebrating-its-old-people-and-making-life-better-for-every-age>
"On a balmy Friday afternoon earlier this month, the most feared group of
people in Europe breached the 13th-century defensive walls of Wrocław and
poured into the town square. Some wore blue berets, others cowboy hats, straw
boaters and, in one instance, a three-tiered cake stand adorned with kitchen
sponges and pompoms. Resistance was futile: less than an hour after their
arrival, the mayor ceremonially handed over the key to the Polish city’s gate
to the flamboyantly dressed couple they had chosen as their queen and king.
Baby boomers are often talked of as an existential threat to Europe’s economic
prosperity and welfare state model. The population of men and women born in the
mid-1940s to mid-60s, who are now in their 60s, 70s and 80s, is calculated by
the World Health Organization to have overtaken people younger than 15 in
Europe this year, and it is estimated people over 65 will make up more than 30%
of the EU’s population by 2100. They are forecast to leave workplaces
understaffed and healthcare services overwhelmed. Economists talk of them in
terms of natural catastrophes (“the silver tsunami”) or acts of terrorism (“the
demographic bomb”).
Yet Wrocław, Poland’s fourth largest city, is not keeping its elderly citizens
at arm’s length, but hugging them close. At the annual “march of hats”, they
are invited to parade through the city in festive attire and extravagant
headgear. A marching band leads them to a stage outside the town hall, where
the most innovative headdresses are awarded prizes (a teacup fascinator made of
cardboard and a ceramic top hat beat the competition this year). The crowds
then pair up to shake their tail feathers to the hits of their youth. The
Beatles’
I Want to Hold Your Hand and Elvis Presley’s
Blue Suede Shoes boom
out of the speakers as dancing couples swirl around the cobbled square.
The point of the gathering is to challenge what behaviour is considered
appropriate for old age. “My grandmother was very strict and religious, and she
dressed almost like a nun,” says pensioner Ewa Rapacz, 80. “My mother
socialised more, but her priority was her house and garden. For me, the most
important thing is to be around people.”"
Via
Positive.News
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
