Lifelong learning: The red-headed stepchild of Lebanon’s National Strategy for Older People

Abstract

Decades of governmental neglect mark the socio-political realities of older people in Lebanon. They endure poverty, illiteracy, ageism, exclusion from healthcare and social security, and are absent from public spaces. Against the backdrop of these realities and Lebanon’s ageing population, the Lebanese Ministry of Social Affairs, in collaboration with other stakeholders, recently developed the first-ever National Strategy for Older Persons in Lebanon 2020–2030 (NSOP). This strategy aligns itself with regional and international efforts promoting older people’s health and social and economic participation, aims to reduce social disparities, achieve justice and equal opportunities, and promote positive welfare. In light of the paucity of scholarly works examining local policies on the intersection of ageing and adult education policies, this paper proffers a strategy analysis of the NSOP with particular interest in the stature it affords lifelong learning. To that end, two research questions are raised: (1) How does the NSOP imagine the role of lifelong learning in fulfilling its agenda? (2) What disconnects exist between the NSOP’s vision of ageing and the imagined role of lifelong learning in realising it? Answers are sought via a double-layered manifest and latent analysis of the NSOP document. Conclusions suggest the NSOP’s prescription and description of lifelong learning opportunities, including goals, provision and programming, are shorthanded and ambiguous. The NSOP’s ‘radical ethos’ also staggers on normative ageing ideals enshrined in existing cultural values yet claims to defy them. This policy discussion problematises the ableist and economic function of lifelong learning within the NSOP and, thereafter, the latter’s potency in mitigating the doomsday scenario older people in Lebanon endure. Ultimately, action mechanisms on policy, governance, capacity-building and research levels are suggested.