AGEING WITHOUT PERMISSION - A RADICAL MANIFESTO
A future where older adults are unapologetically present in the world.
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This manifesto is for those, throughout the world, with the power to shape a new way to age. Designers, policymakers, politicians, reformers, funders and influencers. If you’re in the business of caring for older adults, this is a challenge to be bolder. A call to stop defending systems that fail people every day — and to start building something radically better.DOWNLOAD BELOW.
the eleven pillars of ageing without permission
The way we think about ageing isn't working. We need a new vision—one grounded in dignity, community, and genuine human connection. Ageing Without Permission challenges outdated assumptions, offering a hopeful alternative for how we can live fully and vibrantly, at every age.Here are eleven bold ideas to guide us towards a radically better future:
1. Stop pretending aged care works. It’s broken—segregation and isolation can't be fixed by reform alone.2. Age on your own terms. Plan boldly and early; ageing should reflect personal choices, not bureaucratic limits.3. Communities first, state second. Shift power from distant systems to local, empowered communities.4. Fund people, not bureaucracies. Move resources directly into communities, not administrative layers.5. Shift real power, not just processes. Consultation isn't enough—communities deserve control.6. Community is family. Genuine care means expanding our view of family beyond biology to mutual care networks.7. Design for connection, not isolation. Create integrated, intergenerational spaces that foster daily interactions.8. Participation every day. Real community thrives through continuous involvement, not occasional consultation.9. Wisdom is community wealth. Older adults are active participants and essential resources—not passive recipients.10. Mutual aid over transactions. Care should be reciprocal, rooted in community solidarity, not commercial exchange.11. Humanise technology. Use technology to remove barriers and enhance relationships—not to replace them.
It's time to move beyond systems that quietly fail people every day.
It's time to build communities where ageing is about living—fully, richly, and without permission.Join the movement by signing up below.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR - ADAM WOODS
Adam Woods is a strategist, speaker, and leader working at the intersection of community, ageing, and social design.Much of Adam’s childhood was spent inside Broughton House, a residential care home in Salford, Greater Manchester, where his grandparents were carers. It was a joyful place—and a sad one. The care was kind, the people dedicated. But even then, it felt like a world apart: safe, contained, and quietly cut off from the rest of life.Later, after watching three of his grandparents navigate the UK aged care system in different forms—all well-meaning, none quite right—his interest turned into something more urgent.
In 2022, he joined the Australian aged care sector where he saw, up close, the passion and commitment of frontline staff—and the well-intentioned bureaucracy that often stood in their way. He launched a new home care service, guiding older adults through systems so convoluted they require a translator, a navigator, and sometimes, a miracle. He spoke with older migrants who had no idea what they were entitled to. And he sat with families who had waited nearly a year for care, while watching their loved ones grow older, sicker, and more isolated.Ageing Without Permission is his rally cry for something better: care that is human, not institutional. Community over bureaucracy. Continuity over segregation. A future where older people aren’t hidden away—but remain fully, unapologetically present in the world.