Your Stage – the festival on the world of work for over-60s
The aim of “Your Stage – the festival on the world of work for over-60s” is to inform and sensitise both those active in the world of work and the general public about the issue of “Continued employment after retirement age” and to foster discussion. The focus is on the many different post-retirement employment options. The festival is a creative space for private individuals, organisations and representatives from politics. The festival has been held twice to date.
The importance of people continuing to work after retirement age is growing steadily. In the next ten years, a quarter of the current labour force – over a million people – will reach retirement age. Many of them would like to or need to continue working. Although this trend poses challenges for companies and for society, it also offers tremendous opportunities. This can also be seen at “ Your Stage – the festival on the world of work for over-60s”.
Target group focus
The festival is aimed at:
- Older people who are thinking about their professional future after 60 or 65.
- Company representatives and HR managers who want to find out about and compare notes on strategies and measures for staff aged 60 and over.
- Representatives from the public sector, education, politics and associations with an interest in learning about and actively contributing to the area of “work for over-60s”.
Previous editions of “Your Stage – the festival on the world of work for over-60s”
What happens next?
Companies, associations, foundations and, of course, individuals who are interested in potentially supporting the next event as sponsors, partners or supporters are cordially invited to get in touch with us.
Festival, 2024 edition, in Bern, Zurich, Bellinzona, Lausanne
The event, which took place from 2–6 September 2024, offered a variety of formats and met with a great deal of interest: around 700 people attended the opening ceremony and nearly 30 workshops, expert inputs and coaching sessions, which took place in the cities of Bern, Zurich, Bellinzona and Lausanne as well as online.
Opening ceremony: a strong kick-off signal
The opening ceremony in Bern focused on key issues:
- The urgent need to pay attention to continued employment after retirement age.
- The role of older people in the future world of work.
- The impact of AI on the labour market.
Important specialist input came from experts such as Prof. Dr Jonathan Bennett (Co-Head of the Institute on Ageing at Bern University of Applied Sciences) and Karin Frick (Head of Research at the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute). In the subsequent panel discussion, which was moderated by Karin Landolt, Daniela Aeberhard (BKW) and Lukas Schönwetter (Georg Fischer) discussed corporate models and best practices.
Bern University of Applied Sciences successfully communicated its expertise in the area of post-retirement-age employment and discussed forms of extended employment with those involved in the labour market.
Partner organisations
“Your Stage – the festival on the world of work for over-60s” is organised in cooperation with Loopings.
Variety of offerings and formats: across the board
Over five days, the festival hosted a wide range of activities, including panel discussions, workshops, expert inputs and coaching sessions. The programmes were offered by more than 30 organisers and coaches both at the venue in various cities and online, in order to reach as broad a target group as possible.
I was particularly pleased that so many dedicated companies and individuals could be found who were prepared to enrich the Festival programme with their own offerings. We don’t take this for granted, but it also shows that if you’re involved with the over-60s world of work, you’re in good company.
A step into the future of employment post-retirement
“Your Stage – the festival on the world of work for over-60s” demonstrated very clearly that the issue of continued employment after retirement age is not just important, but also inspiring and motivating. With various offerings tailored to the needs of the participants, a significant contribution was made to discussing the issues involved and to shaping the world of post-retirement work.
Festival, 2022 edition, in Bern
The first edition of “Your Stage – the festival on the world of work for over-60s” took place from 20–22 October 2022 and began with a plenary session moderated by Kurt Aeschbacher. It offered fascinating stories from people who are continuing to work post-retirement as well as brief scientific and practice-orientated presentations packed with facts, figures and data. On the panel:
- Dr Jonathan Bennett, Co-Head of the Institute on Ageing, Bern University of Applied Sciences
- Chantal Beyeler, Organisational Consultant büro a&o
- Daniel Derendinger, Managing Director AVA Concept AG
Varied programme with practical input
On Friday and Saturday morning, there were various interactive parallel events to choose from: a Life Design Workshop offered meaningful next steps for the participants’ own future world of work, and short one-on-one coaching sessions gave them the opportunity to discuss their personal concerns. In the cafeteria, informal discussions took place with scientists, employees aged 64/65+ and experts.
On Friday afternoon, a panel discussion focused on the political challenges.
- Dr Melanie Mettler, Green Liberal National Councillor Bern
- Dr Margrit Hugentobler, Co-Project Manager neuesalter.ch
- Dr Simon Wey, Chief Economist of the Swiss Employers’ Association
- Jürg Eggenberger, Managing Director of Swiss Leaders
- Dr Thomas Bauer, Head of Economic Policy at Travail.Suisse
Companies then presented good practice examples relating to the topic of “older employees and continued employment after retirement age”. Besides what is already working well, business community representatives also identified a need for further action.
We will continue to pursue the Working After Retirement Age project. I was overwhelmed by how many people were interested in this topic.