Lynn often says, “The final chapter of life should be like the end of a good movie, meaningful and beautiful.”  But the path that led her to this belief began somewhere far more painful.

When Personal Experience Becomes a Calling 

Lynn’s path into ageing and longevity wasn’t academic or accidental, it was deeply personal. Her father’s long Alzheimer’s journey reshaped the rhythm of family life. Her mother’s unspoken sacrifices, depression and sudden passing revealed how deeply unprepared many people are for a long life, even as they are already living it. 

“In Chinese we often say: it’s fate, it’s your destiny,” she reflects. “If not for these experiences, we might not be where we are now.” Those experiences didn’t just shape her. They sharpened her purpose. They made her ask, ‘What if late life wasn’t an afterthought? What if it could be meaningful, supported, or even beautiful?’ 

This question sits at the heart of Voice Taiwan. And it’s why the chapter grew from an idea to 750 members in just one year. As Lynn puts it, “Someone told me: If your dream is good for society, the universe will help you make it come true. That’s how Voice Taiwan started.” 

Redefining Ageing: “I’ve Seen a Hundred Different Ways of Ageing.” 

Taiwan, like the rest of the world, is ageing at speed. But what fascinates Lynn isn’t the statistics, it’s the sheer diversity of ageing itself. “I’ve seen a hundred different ways of ageing,” she says. “Personality is the key, not just career or work experience.” In a society that often equates retirement with decline, Lynn sees something very different. Some older adults reinvent themselves with startling energy. Others, including more than half of former senior executives, slip into depression once the structure of work disappears. 

It raises a bigger question for all of us living in an era of longevity. If life branches into multiple paths after 60, how do we help people choose the one that leads toward vitality rather than loneliness? 

Why Voice Taiwan Clicked: Curiosity, Contribution, and a Global Window 

Voice Taiwan’s extraordinary growth didn’t happen by accident. People join because they recognise something they’ve been craving but couldn’t quite name, a space that feels different, expansive, alive with possibility. As many tell Lynn, “What you do is completely different from anything we’ve been to.” 

The pull spans generations. It’s driven by curiosity, the irresistible draw of new ideas and fresh perspectives and by a deep desire to contribute, to know that lived experience still matters. There’s also the appeal of looking outward, of being part of an international conversation, connected to others navigating longer lives in different places and cultures. Above all, there is meaning and the chance to help shape a future that future generations will one day inherit. 

One member, now 83, captured it beautifully: “For 30 years I didn’t know I could still help people at 83.” 

For Lynn, this is the heart of Voice. “TICA is like a life library,” she says. “Each person is a unique book. With over 1,000 members, you have an entire library of life wisdom.” 

And it leaves us with an inviting question: imagine what we might learn, and what we might change, if all those libraries around the world were connected. That’s why we’re beginning a global conversation across all Voice chapters, to listen, compare, and learn together.  

The Intergenerational Knock-On Effect

In Taiwan, people in their 30s, 40s and 50s are already thinking about ageing, not hypothetically, but because they’re watching their parents age in real time. Some live far from home, seeing decline through the narrow window of video calls. Others juggle childcare and eldercare at once. 

This early exposure creates something powerful, a generation motivated to prepare for longevity before crisis hits. It’s a pattern we’re hearing across many Voice chapters, a shift in how middle age views the future. 

Taiwan’s Emerging Challenges: A Mirror for the World 

Every geography offers a different lens on longevity. In Taiwan, that lens brings several urgent realities into focus. Loneliness is rising, and senior suicide rates have increased two to three times over the past decade, a stark reminder that longer lives do not automatically mean more connected ones. At the same time, many people are ageing in homes never designed for long life, spaces that are too small, too old, and rarely adapted to bodies that change over time. 

Taiwan’s dense urban living adds another layer. Information travels fast, participation is high, and communities can mobilise quickly but the pace can also tip into overwhelm. As people live longer, they are also saying goodbye to more relationships, making emotional resilience not a “nice to have,” but a vital skill for later life. 

Against that backdrop, it’s no surprise that the most in-demand workshop topics at Voice Taiwan keep returning to the fundamentals, food, exercise, and housing. When life feels faster, longer, and more emotionally complex, people reach for what steadies them. Three simple elements , yet together, they form the infrastructure of a good old age. 

Collecting the World’s Life Libraries

As we continue speaking with leaders across Voice’s global chapters, a pattern is emerging. Every country has its challenges. Every community has its strengths. Every leader, like Lynn, carries a story that becomes part of something larger. 

Maybe this global network is more than a programme. Maybe it is, as Lynn says, a life library and our role is to keep adding shelves, keep opening books, keep listening. 

Because somewhere inside these stories,  in Taiwan, in every chapter, we are slowly uncovering the shared wisdom we’ll all need to live not just longer lives, but better ones.