Enlarging the frame: Issues of inclusion and mental health in an ageing society

This contribution frames the notions of inclusion and mental health by describing trends in European societies at the social and economic level that will have direct consequences for a participative civil society and social cohesion. Starting point is the observation that the world faces challenges at the start of the 21st century that are new and unprecedented in its history. The four global forces that break all the trends known so far in human history include urbanization, accelerating technological development, greater global connections, and population ageing. The authors first describe the scale of population ageing, as ageing populations characterize several developed economies. In a second step, they highlight some consequences of population ageing for social welfare and in a third part they elaborate on the notion of justice and inclusion in rapidly changing societies.