Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), through its Centre for Advanced Research (CARe) took on a positive approach to ageing with the "Forum on New Frontiers in Social Research on Ageing: Implications for Brunei Darussalam" which was held at the Institute for Leadership, Innovation and Advancement (ILIA).

Often seen as a problem, threat to prosperity and something that governments need to solve or manage, CARe's new Health and Ageing research cluster believes that ageing, as an inevitable reality, is rather a powerful indicator or social progress. While many Asian societies including Brunei Darussalam sees that the ageing of the population poses a social challenge, it is necessary then to ensure improvements in older generations' quality of life.

Convened by CARe Director Associate Professor Dr Hoon Chang Yau and Professor Dr Adrian Kay, the one-day forum hopes to develop research into the opportunities presented by ageing to build social and economic structures which will lead to a more resilient society, improve the relationship between generations and improve the wellbeing of older people who are going to be a larger segment of the society in years to come.

Present at the forum's opening ceremony was the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Yang Berhormat Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Aminuddin Ihsan Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin. Also present were principal officers and staff of UBD along with representatives from government agencies and Non-Government Organisations.

Specially invited speakers for the forum included representatives from CARe, UBD, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports; Ministry of Health; Dementia Brunei; Brunei Council on Social Welfare; Malaysian Research Institute on Ageing, Universiti Putra Malaysia; Centre for Family and Population Research, National University of Singapore; School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University; and Centre for Ageing Studies, University of Indonesia.

The Forum defined critical aspects in novel frontiers of ageing research, identifying stakeholders and how they can collaborate and coordinate within age-friendly communities. Other issues raised included resource allocation, the service-user experience, gaps in the current knowledge on the governance of age-friendly community initiatives, and effective social research collaboration. The Forum's comparative approach encouraged input from a range of fields in the social sciences and humanities, aiming to set a cutting-edge interdisciplinary research agenda on ageing that focuses on key issue involved in ensuring the quality of the extra years being lived.

In addition to a tendency to attach negative stigma in describing and categorising the growing numbers of the elderly, much work has been focused on the development of the youth who are considered important assets in building and shaping the future of the country and people. The Minister emphasised the need to acknowledge and attach the same importance for the caring and development of the ageing population. "In Brunei Darussalam, we don't paint a pessimistic picture of the ageing population," he said during the Forum's opening ceremony. "Rather we see them as one of the critical stakeholders, working together with us, to realise the Brunei Vision 2035."

CARe was established in 2013 in response to calls by His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam and Chancellor of UBD for the university to develop and conduct relevant and impactful research on national issues. Believing in the value of multidisciplinary research, it continuously invites specialists from different disciplines across the university to collaborate on various projects. The other research clusters under CARe are Youth and the Economy, which cover education, employment, social behaviour and entrepreneurship, and Welfare and Poverty, which cover issues such as state subsidies, pension, charity, disability and accessibility.