Into its second month now on Substack,The Arc of Ageingby Jane Barratt provides a global perspective of the ageing and longevity landscape with insights and commentary from someone who has a depth of experience in this field. Jane Barratt’s ability to engage and facilitate global conversation as I’ve witnessed over the last seven years is noteworthy, and so for me this Substack platform is a trip of continuity in progressive thinking.
Previous to this Arc of Ageing launch, for over twenty years, Barratt was the Secretary General for the International Federation on Ageing (IFA) which is where I first heard her speak at the 2018 IFA conference, and where she remains as a Global Advisor. With her extensive knowledge and long standing global connections with the UN, the WHO and other global organizations in the global health and ageing policy space, Jane speaks as she says, “not as an observer, but as someone who’s been in the room where systems are built, broken, and occasionally transformed.”
From Barratt’s writing on this Substack platform you can gain an immediate sense of her astute thinking, for example in her straight to the point article from April 23, 2025 – The Ageing Agenda is Too Small – where I found she voiced what I’ve also shared in similar recent conversations with professionals in this field: “We need to stop asking whether ageing can be ‘managed” and start asking what a just, inclusive, and age-diverse society actually looks like.”
As I cut away over the next two months from my normal weekly blog content to begin the shift to my Summer Shorts series where I take a look at more light-headed subject matter featuring other historical and whimsical icons of longevity, I do encourage you to follow the ongoing stream of content on ageing and longevity topics as I do, which is why I close this season by recommending that you subscribe and learn from – The Arc of Ageing.
