(afternoon, 29th June, 2027)
Local Innovations, Shared Challenges: Childcare, Ageing, and Disabled People’s Autonomy in East Asia
This roundtable, “Local Innovations, Shared Challenges: Childcare, Ageing, and Disabled People’s Autonomy in East Asia,” explores how East Asian societies are responding to global care challenges through locally grounded innovations. Bringing together five speakers from Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea, the session will share lived autonomy among disabled people, care for older adults, and childcare in East Asian contexts. These presentations highlight shared pressures such as population ageing, declining birth rates, changing family structures, care workforce shortages, and persistent inequalities, while also showcasing community-based, rights-oriented, and culturally specific responses. With a discussant from Western Europe, the roundtable encourages cross-border dialogue on how East Asian experiences can broaden care research beyond Eurocentric perspectives and contribute to more inclusive, sustainable, and just care systems.
Lived Autonomy among Disabled People
Speaker: Dr. Toshi Uwano
researcher, University of Tokyo, Japan
Speaker: Ms. Chun-Chieh Lin
ILC, Taiwan
Speaker: Mr. Vincent Huang
Hand Angel, Taiwan
Care for Older Adults in Korea
Speaker: Professor Yong-Ho Chon
Department of Social Welfare at Incheon National University in South Korea
Children in East Asian Countries
Speaker: Dr. Shu-Yun Wang
Department of Social Welfare, National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan
Discussant: Prof. Barbara Da Roit
University Cà Foscari of Venice, Italy
Moderator: Dr. Po-Han Lee
National Taiwan University, Taiwan
