ECONOMIA SOCIALĂ SI ÎMBĂTRÂNIREA ACTIVĂ, UN RĂSPUNS CONJUGAT LA PROVOCĂRILE SOCIETĂTII MODERNE
SOCIAL ECONOMY AND ACTIVE AGEING, AN INTEGRATED RESPONSE TO THE CHALLENGES OF MODERN SOCIETY

Summary/Abstract: The article tackles population ageing, a demographic phenomenon registering a rapid growth over the last decades in the modern world, including Romania, viewed here from the perspective of the efforts undertaken by countries to find solutions to curb its negative impact on social life. Conceptually, these solutions can be defined by the active ageing phrase and are operationally integrated in the social economy system, representing the focus of the present article which also includes the views of renowned scientific authorities. The world economic crisis and massive layoffs called for an evaluation of the efficiency of those active measures advocating for the professional insertion of the elderly. We recall here the decision taken by the European Union leadership to declare 2012 as “The European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations”. The interest in the field of social economy has increased due both to “acknowledging the limits of traditional public and private sectors in responding to today’s labour market challenges, and to the quality and quantity of the collective interest services” (European Parliament, Report on social economy”, 2009, p. 15). In light of this, understanding and capitalizing on the potential of social economy is essential and one of the solutions which appears to be most frequently mentioned. The article also covers the trends in population ageing and social implications, as well as various European and global initiatives whose results support the conclusion that de¬veloping social economy represents, indeed, one of the main solutions, so far under-exploited, to the ageing challenge, providing substance to the concept of active ageing.

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