[Education as a means to face challenges posed to the elderly].

This article discusses education as a means to face challenges imposed to the elderly by age and by society, thus allowing them to acquire new knowledge and obtain new opportunities to achieve physical and emotional well-being. Educational programmes for the elderly try to address these needs by working with several pedagogical procedures in order to awaken critical awareness in the search for a successful ageing. By means of continued education, these programmes have allowed the elderly to get up-to-date, acquire knowledge and participate in cultural, social, political, and leisure activities.