MONTEGO BAY, St James — Jamaica’s ageing population is cause for serious dialogue as part of the country’s national development agenda, according to Labour and Social Security Minister Pearnel Charles Jr.

“It’s an urgent conversation, but it is not a very easy conversation for everyone to understand,” Charles Jr argued in an address at a conference on ageing at Catalonia hotel in Montego Bay last Friday.

The Beyond the Horizon and Beyond Conference, as it was named, was presented by Reverend Miranda Sutherland.

“It is essential for us to see this conversation as a critical one as a part of the national development conversation,” Charles Jr added as he pointed to data showing that individuals age 60 and over account for approximately 14 per cent of Jamaica’s population — nearly 400,000 people — a figure expected to almost double by 2030.

“I’m a lawyer but I’m first a scientist, and so I go off of facts and data. The data is telling us that seniors are outpacing the growth in the youth population for the first time in our history,” the minister said, then referenced a quote often attributed to late Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist Mahatma Gandhi: “The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.”

“This population shift touches every aspect of our life. The goal, then, is that we have to look in that cohort of seniors where there is inherent vulnerability,” Charles Jr said.

He urged Jamaicans to embrace purposeful ageing grounded in faith, family, service, and resilience, to ensure a fulfilling and dignified life for seniors.

Charles Jr also argued that sidelining older workers in the name of creating opportunities for youth fosters ageism, which harms not only individuals but also institutions. He added that without integrating experienced staff to guide others and prevent repeated mistakes, organisations risk low productivity.

Reverend Sutherland, an Anglican priest serving in British Columbia, Canada, and a native of Jamaica, designed the conference to focus on positive, purposeful ageing. It draws on the concept of “theogerotranscendence”, which promotes growth in wisdom, spirituality, and life satisfaction during the later stages of life.

“As I did that research I recognised that the focus was on the human side of things. It was more about the sector — hence the reason of identifying my own theory. While theogerotranscendence is a humanistic theory which proposes that as individuals age they undergo a psychological shift towards a more transcendent and cosmic perspective, I realised I needed to do more seniors,” Sutherland said.

She also used the opportunity to launch her book, Age-ing Out Loud.