Aging is a Blessing, No Less than Youth Itself: A Debate at The World Bank

Abstract

In March of 2023, The World Bank held an Oxford style debate on paradigms of aging. The event was held during the annual conference for Human Development at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC. Dr. Mukesh Chawla, Advisor for Health, Nutrition and Population at the World Bank Group and Coordinator of the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility, conceived and chaired the debate. Below are written comments prepared by three of the debaters in favor of the resolution: This House Believes Aging is a Blessing, No Less Than Youth Itself, a variation from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “Morituri Salutamas” poem. The “Wizeaykrs” team, consisted of Drs. Pooja Yerramilli, Ernest Gonzales, and George Alleyne, and argued aging is a blessing and framed each life stage as an opportunity for advancing a healthy and equitable society for individuals, families, communities, and society. The opposing team, the “Yonkers,” consisted of Drs. Michal Rutkowski, Adanna Chukwuma, and David Wilson, argued youth was far more of a blessing than later life. Each speaker had five (5) minutes, prior to questions and comments, and an audience vote. Although the vote was 50/50, the Yonkers were deemed winners, which was ascertained with a telephone app that measured the volume of cheers by the audience. Below, please find remarks written by the Wizeaykrs Team, as well as their biographies.