Call for Papers
We invite you to join us for the Sixteenth Interdisciplinary Conference on Aging & Social Change, the annual meeting of The Aging & Social Change Research Network, to be held 15–16 October 2026 at Akdeniz University in Antalya, Turkey, with full online participation through CGScholar Event (KX). The Network brings together scholars, practitioners, policy leaders, gerontologists, healthcare and social-care professionals, designers, community organizations, and advocates who study and shape the social, cultural, economic, and political conditions of aging. We welcome proposals that explore aging as a lived experience and a societal transformation, engaging with its challenges and opportunities across diverse contexts and communities.
Special Focus and Themes
Our 2026 Special Focus invites contributors to consider how demographic change is reshaping social contracts, care systems, labour markets, and expectations of wellbeing across the life course. Around the world, aging populations, shifting pension and employment structures, and evolving family arrangements are prompting societies to rethink how responsibility, dignity, and security are organised across generations. The prevalence of chronic illness and the growing need for long-term care underscore the urgency of developing integrated, ethical, and person-centred care infrastructures, while demographic pressures raise new questions about fairness, sustainability, and the distribution of risks and resources.
The full Special Focus statement, available on the conference website, explores these issues in greater depth, highlighting why Turkey—our 2026 host—is a particularly resonant site for examining demographic change, innovation in gerontological practice, and the transformation of intergenerational arrangements.
Alongside the Special Focus, proposals are welcomed across the Network’s annual themes: Economic and Demographic Perspectives on Aging; Public Policy and Public Perspectives on Aging; Medical Perspectives on Aging, Health, and Wellness; and Social and Cultural Perspectives on Aging.
Knowledge Experience and Format
The conference is organised as a hybrid knowledge experience, integrating in-person and online participation in a single shared scholarly environment. All accepted proposals become Presentation Pages on CGScholar Event (KX), where presenters can upload abstracts, media, and reflections, and where delegates can continue conversations before, during, and after the event.
In-person sessions at Akdeniz University run alongside live online sessions and asynchronous presentations. Whether attending in Antalya or joining remotely, all delegates have access to the full schedule and an expanding digital archive. Across all formats, the conference emphasizes collegial, human-scale engagement—discussion, reflection, and shared inquiry—over one-directional presentation.
Participants may choose to present or attend as audience members, in person or online, with all modes supporting meaningful participation across disciplines and career stages.
Publication Pathways
Presenters are invited to develop their conference contributions for possible publication in The Journal of Aging and Social Change, which publishes interdisciplinary research on the social, cultural, economic, and policy dimensions of aging, or in the Aging & Social Change Book Imprint, which supports monographs and edited collections that advance the field. Both outlets offer options for traditional and Open Access publication.
Membership and Community
Membership in The Aging & Social Change Research Network is included in all Presenter Passes, providing year-round access to journals, books, and the Network’s community spaces. Membership supports ongoing dialogue, collaboration, and shared work across an international cohort of researchers, practitioners, and leaders committed to understanding and improving the social conditions of aging.
Join Us
We warmly invite you to submit a proposal and to join us—either in Antalya or online—for the Sixteenth Interdisciplinary Conference on Aging & Social Change, the annual meeting of The Aging & Social Change Research Network. Together, we will explore how demographic transitions are reshaping political, social, economic, and cultural life, and how societies might reimagine intergenerational futures.
Sincerely,
Prof. Dr. İsmail Tufan, Conference Chair, Akdeniz University & Muş Alparslan University, Turkey
Prof. Dr. Nilüfer Korkmaz Yaylagül, Conference Co-Chair, Akdeniz University, Turkey
Dr. Mehmet Efe, Conference Co-Chair, Muş Alparslan University, Turkey
Prof. Dr. Gülüşan Özgün Başıbüyük, Conference Committee, Akdeniz University, Turkey
Dr. Gökçe Yagmur Güneş Gencer, Conference Committee,, Akdeniz University, Turkey
Dr. Müveddet Konuşkan Bayraktar, Conference Committee,, Muş Alparslan University, Turkey
Dr. Deniz Pamuk, Conference Committee, Muş Alparslan University, Turkey
Dr. Özlem Özgür, Conference Committee, Akdeniz University, Turkey
Gülsima Ağıldere Baykal, National Association of Social and Applied Gerontology, International Relations and Projects Coordinator, Turkey
Prof. Andreas Motel-Klingebiel, Research Network Chair, Linköping University, Sweden
Dr. Phillip Kalantzis-Cope, Chief Social Scientist, Common Ground Research Networks, United States of America