Meeting ReportPublished: 19 November 2025Myechia Minter-Jordan1 &Vincenzo Paglia2 Nature Aging (2025)Cite this articleSubjectsAgeingPolicySocial sciencesOn 9–10 May 2025, AARP, the Pontifical Academy for Life, the Età Grande Foundation, and the Franciscus Memorial co-organized a symposium in the Vatican on the global trend of population aging and the importance of ensuring the dignity, purpose, inclusion and well-being of older adults in the face of aging societies. A summary of this symposium is presented here alongside the declaration of pledges for global aging initiatives that was signed at the event.This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institutionAccess optionsAccess Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journalsGet Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription27,99 € / 30 dayscancel any timeLearn moreSubscribe to this journalReceive 12 digital issues and online access to articles118,99 € per yearonly 9,92 € per issueLearn moreBuy this articlePurchase on SpringerLinkInstant access to full article PDFBuy nowPrices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkoutFig. 1: Participants of ‘The Memory: A Symposium Addressing the Opportunities and Challenges of an Aging Global Population’.ReferencesWorld Health Organization. Decade of Healthy Ageing: The Global Strategy and Action Plan on Ageing and Health 2016–2020: Towards a World in Which Everyone Can Live a Long and Healthy Life (World Health Organization, 2020).He, W., Aboderin, I. & Adjaye-Gbewonyo, D. Africa Aging: 2020. US Census Bureau, International Population Reports, P95/20-1 (US Government Printing Office, 2020).AARP. Global Longevity Economy Outlook: The Economic Contributions Of People Age 50 and Older (AARP, 2022).World Health Organization. Global Report on Ageism (World Health Organization, 2021).AARP. The Economic Impact of Age Discrimination: How Discriminating Against Older Workers Could Cost the U. Economy $850 Billion (AARP, 2020).Xu, W., Lee, S. & Okayasu, H. Glob. Health Med. 5, 264–270 (2023).Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar World Health Organization. Global Status Report on the Public Health Response to Dementia (World Health Organization, 2021).Ribeiro, H. L. Jr Lancet 405, 1735–1736 (2025).Article PubMed Google Scholar Download referencesAcknowledgementsWe thank all symposium participants for sharing their knowledge and insights. Attendees and speakers included (in alphabetical order): O. Aboud, H. E. Judge Mohamed Abdel-Salam, M. Abregú, K. Acharya, J. Andrews, A. M. Barranco Chavarría, C. L. Alberto Bassetti, E. Becker-Barroso, M. T. Bellucci, M. Boada, F. Borello, C. Butler, A. Callamard, D. Chalev, A. Chiba, C. Costa, Y. Diaz, K. Fencl, A. Leis García, M. E. Genoni, D. Goldhawk, P. Groom, P. Araya Gutiérrez, R. Hendrix, S. Henning, J. Hodges, I. Arias Hofman, S. Hussein, V. Iyengar, H. Jalloul, A. Kalache, D. Kestel, K. LaRoche, S. Lenoci, O. Lopez, G. Maira, F. Manes, C. Mathews, Z. Merali, B. Miller, L. Mills, M.M.-J., J. Mintzer, S. Mohanty, A. K. Njamnshi, P. Ong, V.P., A. Park, J. Pike, A. Abou Rafeh, D. Rodriguez, P. Rundlet, E. Saiz, A. Sberna, L. Segal, L. Shallcross, G. Sneddon, R. Snyder, R. Speranza, A. Steinberg, S. Thuault, D. Velasco, L. Walker, L. Tamblyn Watts, D. Whitman & K. Yaffe.Author informationAuthors and AffiliationsAARP, Washington, DC, USAMyechia Minter-JordanPontifical Academy for Life, Rome, ItalyVincenzo PagliaAuthorsMyechia Minter-JordanView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarVincenzo PagliaView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarContributionsM.M.-J. and V.P. conceptualized the manuscript, wrote the first and subsequent drafts, and each reviewed approved the final version of the manuscript.Corresponding authorCorrespondence to Myechia Minter-Jordan.Ethics declarationsCompeting interestsThe authors declare no competing interests.Rights and permissionsReprints and permissionsAbout this article