China, S. Korea, Japan hold symposium on cooperation for age-friendly society in Jeju

JEJU, South Korea, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- A symposium has been held among China, South Korea and Japan on cooperation for an age-friendly society at the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity in the South Korean resort island of Jeju.

The Trilateral Cooperation for Smart and Inclusive Solutions Towards Age-Friendly Society symposium was hosted Wednesday by the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS), a Seoul-based international body, together with World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO) and UN Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat).

In her opening remarks, TCS Secretary-General Ou Boqian pointed out the common challenge of digital divide amid the growing aged populations and rapid urbanization and digitalization in the three leading Asian economies.

Underscoring that China, Japan and South Korea account for world's largest aged population, she called for an easy, equal and universal access to digital economy by aged group, so as to develop a shared community with inclusiveness and equity.

WeGO Secretary-General Park Jung-Sook advocated an incorporation of empowerment for digital access, improvement of public policies and reduction of social conflicts in the smart city solutions to address the aging society issue.

UN-Habitat Executive Director Maimunah Mohd Sharif, in her video speech, stressed cities' pivotal role in addressing socio-economic issues, adding that the adoption of people-centered smart solutions and digital technologies at local level would be critical to ensuring a strengthened participation and inclusion.

With an online-offline audience of over 150 people worldwide, the symposium was the first of its kind to gather experts from China, Japan and South Korea to share the best practices of the three countries in building up age-friendly societies via smart approaches and shed light on future directions of smart urbanization with emphasis on age-inclusiveness.