About the Association

Elderly Issues Research Association (YASAD) was founded in 1998 in Denizli, Türkiye in response to the growing share of older people in Türkiye and worldwide, with the aim of improving public understanding of ageing, shaping social policies and strategies for older people, and carrying the resulting solutions to society at large.

What it does

• Conducts scientific research to advance and strengthen work on ageing,
• Organises educational activities such as courses, congresses, seminars, conferences and panels,
• Publishes journals and books in Turkish and in other languages,
• Carries out joint projects with public institutions, universities and civil society organisations,
• Cooperates with international organisations.

Four strands of work

Elderly Issues Research Journal (EIRJ) — the association's official publication. It first appeared in print in 2001, moved online in 2008 and has been published on TÜBİTAK DergiPark since 2015. It publishes original research that treats ageing not only as a biological process but in its social, cultural, economic, political, psychological, ergonomic and architectural dimensions. The journal is indexed in DOAJ, Crossref, Index Copernicus (ICI), ASCI.

National Ageing Congresses — begun in Ankara in 2001, the congress is held every two years in a different city, organised by the association with a host university and, in some years, the local authority. It brings together gerontology, medicine, social work, sociology and architecture, and aims to produce policy proposals on long-term care, retirement and social security.

Third Age Academy — a social responsibility project launched in 2019 with Pamukkale University. It offers a three-year programme of free, non-credit courses to people aged 60–74; more than 250 students have enrolled to date and the first cohort graduated on 11 May 2026.

Publishing activity — edited volumes and workshops led by member academics.

Milestones

1. 1998The association was founded in Denizli.
2. 2001The Elderly Issues Research Journal began publication in print, and the first National Ageing Congress was held in partnership with Ankara Yenimahalle Municipality.
3. 2008The journal moved to electronic publication.
4. 2015The journal's online platform moved to TÜBİTAK DergiPark; the 8th congress met in Denizli under the title “Ageing in Place”.
5. 2019The Third Age Academy was launched with Pamukkale University.
6. 2025The 13th National Ageing Congress was held with Karabük University under the title “Education for Older Adults”.
7. 2027The 14th National Ageing Congress will convene in Kütahya with Dumlupınar University.

Governing bodies

The association's bodies are the General Assembly, the Executive Board and the Auditing Board. Following the 2022 amendment to the statute, the ordinary general assembly meets every three years in December. The executive board has seven full and seven substitute members, the auditing board three full and three substitute members. The association is based in Denizli, Türkiye and has no branches.