Vision & Goals

An expanding ageing population in any society necessitates better structures of care and equitable resource allocation. While the state and legal systems have an essential role to play in reducing crime and abuses against older people, communities and civil society are also powerful groups in a democratic society that can highlight the needs of older people and ensure they can lead dignified lives.

At CAARNet, anchored at the Centre for Law & Humanities, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, India, we hope to build a creative and critical forum to reflect on ageing and care practices, with particular focus on South Asian, Southeast Asian, and East Asian societies. While our work foregrounds qualitative research, we also recognise the inherently multidisciplinary nature of gerontology and value dialogue with scholars and practitioners from a wide range of fields, and those involved in caregiving or receiving in their own lives. We welcome scholars of ageing and care, lawyers, psychologists, social workers, health practitioners, and those in creative fields to connect with us.

Importance of this network:

1. Generating knowledge through shared views on care practices and tracing the evolving needs of older people.

2. Promoting qualitative research on ageing and care.

3. Supporting collaborative research and joint publications.

4. Hosting talks and conferences, both in-person and online.

5. Raising awareness of issues around ageing and enabling social interventions informed by network members’ research.

There might be cultural similarities among many Asian societies, but there are also stark differences in the way ageing is experienced. Several societies have adopted neoliberal approaches to marketised forms of care, yet vibrant local ecologies of care – often overlooked – continue to sustain age-friendly communities. Through this network, we seek to engage with scholars researching both urban and marginalised groups, including those in geographically remote areas. Further, in today’s globalised, hyper-technologised world, it is imperative to study the transnationalisation of care within diasporic Asian communities. This too is a topic of interest for us.

Through this network, we hope to cultivate a space to deliberate about our ageing futures, find resonances with other care communities, and forge solidarities to create an equitable and care-full world.