Here’s a unique report of a lifestyle aspect that enhances our quality-of-life experience, a true part of Sustainable Living. I found this report personally satisfying because I have two Bachelor degrees, a Masters degree, and a Doctor of Philosophy. When I relocated from Washington to southeast Virginia, to develop the Garden Atrium net zero sustainable community, I discovered I could take courses, with no tuition fee, at any state university.
It was an opportunity to take courses that were never in my major, but seemed intriguing. So, I audit a class every semester at a local university. I attend all the lectures, do all the readings, and do all project assignments; I just don’t take exams. Learning for the sake of learning something in which I’m curious, has made my life more interesting. D’s comments afterwards..
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‘Keeps your mind alert’: Older Swedes
reap the benefits of learning for pleasure
Retirees with ‘fantastic hunger for education’ taking
part in university organized events in record numbers
Miranda Bryant Nordic correspondent
The Guardian
Fri 26 Dec 2025
Record numbers of Swedish retirees are enrolling in a university run “by pensioners for pensioners” amid increased loneliness and a growing appetite for learning and in-person interactions.
Senioruniversitet, a national university that collaborates with Sweden’s adult education institution Folkuniversitetet, has about 30 independent branches around the country which run study circles, lecture series and university courses in subjects including languages, politics, medicine and architecture.
The Stockholm branch, which is Sweden’s largest, has become so popular since it was founded in 1991 that it is now run across multiple venues across the capital by about 100 volunteers. Its most popular event, the Tuesday lectures, gets about 1,000 people each week.
Recent Stockholm lectures have included “The art of awarding Nobel prizes” by a former member of a Nobel committee, “Disinformation and AI – the threat we invented ourselves” and “From soap to cultural heritage/canon and vice versa.”
Inga Sanner, chair of Senioruniversitetet in Stockholm, said membership nationally was at an all-time high.
“We had a dip during the pandemic, of
course, but we have come up again to
the same number and increased even more.
Our membership is the highest ever.”
In 2023 there were 2,099 events held across Sweden attended by 161,932 participants, according to Folkuniversitetet. This year, that number is projected to increase to 177,024 participants across 2,391 events.
Gunnar Danielsson, secretary general of Folkuniversitetet, said:
“The desire to learn for pleasure’s sake, or for the
sake of learning as such, is a joy to experience
in a society which is increasingly obsessed with
learning and education as preparation for work.”
The increasing popularity of Senioruniversitetet was not reflected by the lev
el of government funding, though, he said, which had “significantly decreased” over the past few years.
“More likely it reflects a desire to actually meet
other people in real life rather than on the internet.”
Sanner, a retired history professor, said older people were “more and more alert” and that there is a “fantastic hunger for education”. She added:
“It’s totally fascinating that there are so many
who want to learn more and learn more about
the world. It is so very needed in our time.”
The wider societal role that Senioruniversitetet plays is becoming increasingly important, she said, and the learning and wellbeing of its members has a knock-on effect to their families and beyond. She said …
“It is to do with democracy issues and education.
Senior citizens don’t live in a vacuum. If nothing
else, it has an effect on children and grand-
children. You are an example. Not just sitting
rocking in a rocking chair, but you are out
and want to learn more. Then you can share
that with your grandchildren and children.”
She added:
“The lectures are fantastic. You become
completely fulfilled when you have
been to an event and then it bubbles
over when you meet others.”
For many of their volunteers, their office in central Stockholm is like a workplace.
“It is very meaningful work, but also you
have such a lovely time and meet others.”
Sanner said the demographic of its membership does, however, tend to be “too homogenous”, adding that they need to do more to extend their reach to a more diverse audience.
Susanne Abelin, 66, a former journalist from Norrtälje, near Stockholm, volunteers on the university’s newsletter and is learning Italian.
Ageism is rife in Sweden, she said, and palpable in day-to-day life.
“You are seen more or less as an idiot. Maybe
it’s because we have had it so materially
well over generations that we don’t need
each other so much – for good and for bad.”
But Senioruniversitetet, where over-55s can learn for a relatively low fee, is “a bit of the Swedish welfare system that is still left”.
Her Italian class has a WhatsApp group so they can stay in touch outside lessons and last year she went to Italy with one of her classmates.
“I’m absolutely not fluent in Italian and will
never be, but it is inspiring and it keeps your
mind alert. Instead of doing crosswords and
suduko you can study some verbs.”
Joachim Forsgren, 71, a former physician who now volunteers for the Stockholm branch, has given lectures on “man and drugs” and tuberculosis.
Volunteering, he said, gives people a “sense of meaning and that they are contributing still”. He added:
“People can get the feeling that they are
not contributing once they leave their
jobs. Pensioners is a word I hate.”
By volunteering, he said, “we are contributing to some kind of democracy project. This is really trying, especially in this day and age, to get people interested in what is going on”. Amid the rise of online disinformation and populism, the university helps people to …
“look critically at the amount of information
we are almost drowning in every day”.
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I really enjoyed seeing this report about Sweden’s system.
Sustainable Living shouldn’t cease at a certain age or if someone doesn’t have an ongoing job or professional practice. Personally, I went from architectural practice to university teaching, to being a consultant helping technically-trained architects and engineers to be more effective in building and maintaining client relations, to becoming a developer of a net zero sustainable community.
I’ve taken courses in philosophy, in writing creative non-fiction, in rhetoric, in figure-drawing, and in video production. There’s a lot more we can learn and the diversity of interesting topics is amazing! Adding D’s thoughts …
“Many ways exist to stay engaged as one ages. However, the tendency is for people to become more isolated and feel they’re no longer needed. And yet, there is so much wisdom, learning and understanding in the elder culture.
“The Swedish example is one of taking classes. There are many ways to take classes or become involved in organizations that need help. Our wish is for those who are aging to please find something to attach yourself to, to be around other people, to give back, and to help where help is needed. It is important for elders to be fully engaged for community’s sake.”
The term “elders” bothers me. Since birth, we’re all aging. When Social Security was enacted in 1935, only one half of one percent of our population lived to 65. Boomers often saw anyone over 35 as “elder.” My grandfather died in his early 60s; people said he lived a long life. Today, how old is “old”? Maybe 85? Or perhaps the number keeps going up as we approach it?
I also think of “Elders” in terms of people who share what others consider to be “wisdom.” In that regard, I’ve had two mentors whose thoughts blew me back, and neither were all that old. And I think we’ve all met people who were very old whom we didn’t regard as having much wisdom to share. Yet all have something to give, even as simple as baking a pie. Then again …
Around 450 b.c., the governor of China’s Shandong province was head of the Kong family. He was curious about what else was “out there,” and organized cross-cultural caravans to explore the world. After many months he returned, shared his learnings, and became known as “Kong, the Great Teacher” or. in Mandarin, “Kongfoodsuh” … which evolved into Confucious.
I also hear talk about “being open minded.” I think three-year-olds may be best. They’re curious about so much, and greet virtually everything with wonderment. But once we learn that some things work while others don’t, it seems more difficult to stay as open-minded. We may get stuck with habits that once worked, but no longer do. And we have difficulty changing.
And that’s incredibly relevant in changing habits to living more sustainably.
