00:09The feeling of wondering how long I'm going to last and in what form, especially in what form.
00:17Where one is treated well, where one is valued, where one is not rejected or dismissed because of one's age.
00:23The hardest part is trying to find as much recreation as possible.
00:27because I would like to go out every day.
00:43Growing old in Bogotá can mean many things.
00:46Continue playing sports, share with others, enjoy independence
00:51or need help to perform the most everyday activities.
00:54Or even, in unfortunate cases, abandonment.
00:57Behind every experience is a city that is changing
01:00and that it will have to learn to respond to an increasingly aging population.
01:05According to official projections, Bogotá currently has 1,263,384 inhabitants aged 60 or over.
01:13By 2035 there will be approximately 1.6 million.
01:17And the change is even more accelerated among those over 80 years old.
01:20That population will grow by almost 49% over the next nine years.
01:27Bogotá is many cities in one.
01:30This is due to urban conditions, socioeconomic strata, and opportunities.
01:36I, personally, being a friend of precision medicine and personalized medicine,
01:44I believe that politics also needs to have some personalization or a territorial and population focus.
01:51It is very different to apply longevity or aging policies in Ciudad Bolívar, in Quinta Camacho, or in Suba.
02:00because each locality has its own aging rate and its own conditions.
02:07In 2035, Suba would have more than 53,000 inhabitants aged 80 or over.
02:14Bosa and Usme, meanwhile, will be among the localities where this population group will grow proportionally faster.
02:24Therefore, from now on, spaces for senior citizens are being organized in each locality.
02:29For example, in San Cristóbal there is the Montaña del Saber Day Center, a space to meet with other seniors and learn
02:35and maintain social ties.
02:38This is a type of care aimed at preserving autonomy and participation.
02:48To the extent that I meet with my contemporaries, it has seemed to me to be a wonderful thing to be part of this process,
02:56because what usually happens is that older people are very lonely.
03:02Being in physical contact is much more important and I'm delighted with this process and how time has passed.
03:12Very fast.
03:13Here I've found a spectacular group, the teachers are excellent, they do great activities like the workshops.
03:39And although these spaces are part of the public offering for older people, a city prepared for aging also
03:47It needs to be services known and accessible to those who live far away.
03:51Distances, travel conditions, and available information also determine who can access the activities.
03:58Institutions as such do not reach the places where they are really needed.
04:03The higher parts of the towns are where there is the most misinformation, according to the services provided.
04:10in the district.
04:11So what we actually do is make visits to different neighborhoods, for example in this case of San
04:18Christopher, to reach these people with the offers.
04:28So what needs to be resolved at the level of public policy, at least on this issue of welfare, is
04:35and dignity, because dignity doesn't retire,
04:37The goal for older people is to create social spaces where they can have recreation and learning opportunities.
04:47constant because one never stops learning,
04:50skill spaces, fun spaces, that is, where you can be with other people because what you have
04:56The epidemic that needs to be countered is depression and social isolation.
05:04It would be wonderful if there were more places like this, because there are many elderly people who have never been to one.
05:12A place as spectacular as this,
05:14Sometimes due to a lack of information, or often because they are simply not available, they are scarce.
05:30When aging brings other challenges such as changes in autonomy and independence, care must also adapt.
05:39This is the case of Mario Acevedo, who suffered an accident that affected his mobility and since then his life has changed
05:45and finding a place to receive support became a necessity.
05:49About four years ago I had an accident and, let's say, I lost my mobility, and as you know, one reaches
05:59a point that is useful until it is no longer useful, when it is no longer useful, well.
06:04And I was fortunate enough to be included in this program, which helps the elderly and people who
06:13are vulnerable.
06:15Today she lives in one of Bogotá's long-term care communities, the Social Protection Center
06:21Beautiful Horizon.
06:22There, she receives support for her daily activities, health monitoring, and support from professionals in different disciplines.
06:29We use it from the moment they wake up until they go to rest, tracking their sleep schedules and rest times.
06:38food, cohabitation, all the movements they do, physical activity, accompanying them to their medical appointments, emotional support.
06:50People arrive due to conditions that require permanent attention and support; for them, they are on a waiting list.
07:01They come from lists or filters where the Social Integration Secretariat identifies people
07:08who are at risk and require this service.
07:14However, this type of care has a limited capacity.
07:18According to the Secretariat of Social Integration, as of July 2026, the Community Care Service had 1,945 places available.
07:26and had 715 people on the prioritization list.
07:30Their figures indicate that they have served more than 37,900 people and provided more than 131,000 comprehensive services.
07:38since its launch.
07:39The indicators continue to be important for understanding the demographic transition that Bogotá is experiencing: lower birth rates, greater longevity.
07:48But it is insufficient to design tailored services, calculate care needs, and anticipate the challenges we face today.
08:03in the coming decades.
08:04Let's remember that chronological age tells us how many years we live, while functional capacity, functional independence, helps us
08:15to understand how we are living through these years and what support we will require in the future.
08:21And that's why we talk about comprehensive geriatric assessment as a global public health tool that...
08:28It helps to look precisely at the 360 of the person in their comprehensive care.
08:37Preparing for old age also involves adapting the city outside of homes.
08:42Being able to walk without obstacles, travel on public transport, or remain in a safe home are conditions that determine how long
08:49can preserve a person's independence.
08:53Things that can be entertaining for any elderly person, like going out to buy milk or going out
08:59You go out to buy the eggs and you step into this concrete jungle of aggression, where nobody even gives you the time of day.
09:05Thanks, or it gives you the go-ahead.
09:06Well, that's also an incentive for people to isolate themselves from society again.
09:11What needs to be done? Well, we need to promote civic culture in all aspects, and how do we do that?
09:17does.
09:17Well, of course, thanks, even to giving up your seat and even to behaving much more kindly towards others.
09:26Well, I think Bogotá is going to have to, it's going to have to adapt or have to adapt.
09:37more knowledge to be able to serve that entire elderly population by tomorrow.
09:42This awareness needs to be acquired, especially regarding the importance of older people in terms of transmission.
09:52of knowledge and experience.
09:54And we must take them into account precisely because they are the ones who possess wisdom and have the same capabilities as
10:01anyone.
10:05Caring is very expensive, both at the family level and at the institutional level, residential, in nursing homes.
10:12And care should not be understood as charity, nor as a burden that each family must bear, and many
10:20sometimes alone.
10:22It should be understood as an expression of solidarity between generations and as a shared responsibility, where we all help each other as
10:32society.
10:36The Secretariat of Social Integration has a programmed budget of 184.406 million for the care of the elderly in
10:442026, a figure lower than the 246.9 billion programmed in 2024.
10:50Meanwhile, Bogotá continues to formulate a new public policy on aging that it hopes to adopt by mid-2027.
10:57Healthy longevity cannot be propaganda; it must be a long-term and permanent state policy.
11:06where academia, business, industry, and civil society are all involved.
11:17Bogotá is beginning to build solutions for a population that will live longer, but the challenge will go far beyond that.
11:23to expand care services.
11:25It will also require adapting neighborhoods, housing, health systems, and opportunities so that older people can
11:31decide how they want to live.
11:34The challenge for the city is not only to live longer, but to have the conditions to do so.
11:41with autonomy and dignity.
11:45Age in people is not synonymous with being obsolete.
11:49Age brings diverse knowledge, diverse learning to share.
11:55Even though our health begins to fail, the hope for a new day and the longing always remain.
12:05of the past and gratitude for the future.
12:18Age brings diverse knowledge, diverse people try to disconnect.
