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SWEAH alumnus Wenqian Xu receives large international postdoc grant from Swedish Research Council

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Childlessness is a growing phenomenon in many countries, especially in China. Wenqian Xu will the next three years work with evidence-building, capacity-building and public-engagement activities on the topic "Ageing without children", within this grant.

Could you please comment upon this international postdoc grant, what does it mean to you?

- I am honored to receive this international postdoc grant from Swedish Research Council. I appreciated the generous support received during my preparation for the grant application, especially from colleagues and friends at Lund University, Fudan University and the National University of Singapore.


This prestigious grant provides strong support for my career development, as I will be able to continue improving my skills, knowledge and understanding of various issues of ageing in different societies. Additionally, this grant would enable me to fulfill personal aspirations, namely catalyzing and driving positive impacts on the living environments of older persons through generating and communicating new knowledge.

Why did you choose the research theme Ageing without children?

 - Rising childlessness is not a new trend, but it is accelerating in many countries. What is it like to age and be childless? My research is about exploring lived experiences of aging individuals without children. Childlessness is a growing phenomenon in many countries, especially in China. In 2005, China had 3.52 million childless people aged 60 years or over, and this number is predicted to increase to 79 million by 2050. Current demographic and social changes could affect future scenarios of later-life childlessness in China, for instance, delayed childbearing, and a historically high youth unemployment rate.

Accelerating childlessness has significant implications for society and individuals. It poses challenges to health and social systems. Being childless is a human experience associated with individual and social meanings that can affect the well-being of childless adults. It shapes the identity and goals of daily life and future planning. Hence, Aging without Children, in the context of China, urgently needs to be scientifically studied and considered in policy development. This is also relevant to many other contemporary societies in the world.
 
What are your expectations for the coming three years?

- For the next three years, I will be working on this project intensively. Such efforts of course include evidence-building. Additionally, I plan to conduct capacity-building and public-engagement activities on this topic and other issues of ageing. Interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral and international partnership and collaboration is my key approach to conducting these activities. I’m expecting to enthusiastically work with various stakeholders to advance research and policy in this field.

To the decision at the Swedish Research Council´s web page