Kamala Harris is set to appear in Chicago next week to formally accept the nomination for president of the Democratic party, less than two months after Joe Biden dropped out of the race. She will appear alongside her running mate, Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, at the party’s national convention.

Typically a party formally nominates their candidate at the convention – as the Republicans did for Donald Trump in July – however, Democrats changed the rules to put in place a virtual roll call. Harris and Walz were officially nominated earlier in August.

Here’s what else to know about next week’s Democratic convention.

Where and when is the Democratic national convention?

The Democratic national convention will be held in Chicago from 19 to 22 August.

Chicago previously played host to the convention in 1996, when Bill Clinton was nominated for re-election, and 1968 when Hubert Humphrey was nominated.

Two venues in Chicago will host the convention: the United Center arena for evening programming, and McCormick Place convention center for daytime sessions.

Who is speaking at the convention?

Harris and Walz will both speak at the convention, and Biden is also expected to give an address. The full lineup of speakers has not yet been released (Republicans only released the names of confirmed speakers the day of their July convention).

However, several big names have been reported:

• Monday, 19 August: Biden will speak on the opening night, along with former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

• Tuesday, 20 August: Former president Barack Obama will give an address on the second night.

• Wednesday, 21 August: Former president Bill Clinton will join Walz on the convention’s third night.

• Thursday, 22 August: Harris will close out the fourth night of the convention.

In 2020, the virtual convention included speeches from Barack and Michelle Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Jill Biden and a host of other elected officials.

How can I watch the convention?

The party will livestream the convention on its Democratic national convention website and on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

The Guardian has a team of reporters in Chicago and will be covering the convention in depth, including live blogs each night.

Major news networks are likely to carry prime-time programming. PBS will have live coverage beginning at 8pm each night.

What happens at the Democratic convention?

The primary functions of the convention is to formally nominate the party’s candidate, adopt the party’s platform, unify the party and boost enthusiasm for the ticket.

The convention usually includes a roll call to formally nominate their candidate. However, the rule-making group for the Democratic National Committee established procedures for candidates to contest the primary nomination ahead of the convention.

Harris was confirmed as the party’s nominee after a virtual roll call vote earlier in August – the first time Democrats have used such a process. Harris and Walz will formally accept the nomination at the convention.

The rest of the week will focus on the party’s platform and speeches from notable figures. The party says that more than 5,000 delegates and alternates will be at the convention, with 50,000 total visitors in Chicago for the convention (which includes delegates and the media).

Who else is speaking?

The party has signaled its plans to foreground up-and-coming Democrats in its programming. Likely speakers include the Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer, Maryland governor, Wes Moore, and Illinois governor, JB Pritzker, among others.

Meanwhile, many political influencers have been credentialed, including the socialist podcast host Daniel Denvir.

Will there be protests?

Yes. Organizers expect tens of thousands of people to protest outside the Democratic national convention to pressure the party to stop the war in Gaza. Inside the convention, uncommitted delegates plan to push anti-war demands in hopes of winning more allies to the cause and influencing the party platform.

Chicago is home to the country’s largest Palestinian population – with Bridgeview, Illinois, known as Little Palestine. More than 200 groups have joined together for the March on the DNC, with protests planned for the opening and closing nights of the convention.

Protests are not unique to the Democratic convention; during the Republican convention in July, protesters led a demonstration against Trump and his party in downtown Milwaukee.

What’s ahead on the US election calendar?

The next presidential debate is scheduled for 10 September, with both Harris and Trump confirmed.

A debate between JD Vance and Walz has been confirmed for 1 October.

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

The writer is chief economist of the Asian Development Bank. Aiko Kikkawa, senior economist at ADB and the lead author of ‘Aging Well in Asia’, also contributed

The rapid ageing of societies across Asia and the Pacific doesn’t just raise the question of who will pay for higher pension costs. It also poses the challenge of how to meet increasing physical and mental healthcare needs.

The number of people over 60 in the region is expected to double over the next few decades. Today, on average, 57 per cent of this group have at least one noncommunicable disease — the most common are hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease — yet only four in 10 receive regular check-ups. Nearly a third experience elevated depressive symptoms, with many saying they feel isolated or lonely.

By 2050, the number of people in this age group will surge to 1.2bn, or about a quarter of the population in developing Asia and the Pacific. This demographic shift is unprecedented in its speed, fuelled by steep declines in fertility rates and occurring at an earlier stage of development than in advanced economies. While greater longevity reflects the region’s successful socio-economic development, it also presents increasingly urgent challenges.

Paramount is how to ensure the wellbeing of the soaring number of older people. Health is the most critical dimension of wellbeing, because it directly affects quality of life. But it is also key for other aspects, such as productive work, economic security, and family and social life. 

Health and long-term care services will need to be expanded. This is likely to be expensive — although the experience of advanced countries shows that budget resources can be increased by mobilising more tax revenue and promoting growth-oriented spending. Over time, greater investment in healthcare can contribute to a “silver dividend” as a healthier population of older people will be more productive and require less care. In fact, the Asian Development Bank estimates that the current untapped work capacity of older persons could increase GDP by up to 1.5 per cent in some Asian economies.

Moreover, significant health and economic benefits can accrue through disease prevention. Community-based programmes have achieved promising results in lessening tobacco use, blood pressure control, diabetes management and health screening. Promoting physical activity and healthy food and diets can also minimise the burden of disease.

Beyond healthcare policies, policymakers must also tackle related challenges such as pervasive informal employment and stark gender inequality. Informal workers enjoy little or no protections at work; many have no choice but to keep working until their health fails.

Women can expect to live longer than men but are more prone to disease, and depressive symptoms with 59 per cent of older women in Asia and the Pacific suffering from at least one noncommunicable disease. At the same time, older women may have fewer resources than their male counterparts to access healthcare because their economic opportunities are constrained, and they have less access to pensions.

These challenges are interconnected, requiring governments in Asia and the Pacific to take a comprehensive approach. A top priority should be to increase pension coverage and ensure adequate benefits for the poorest. 

Policies can also make it easier for older people to work, for instance by offering incentives for employers to hire and retain older workers and adapt work patterns. Outdated statutory retirement ages can be increased over time and made more flexible. Remuneration based on seniority, prevalent in many regional economies, can be reformed to make wages better reflect the productivity of older workers.

Governments can and must also do more to empower their citizens to plan and prepare for old age. Policies should focus on life-long preparation — encouraging not only healthy lifestyles, but also continuous learning to update skills and acquire new ones, and long-term financial planning for retirement. Early investments will be key to success.

The cost of inaction is high, ranging from the unhappiness of older citizens to widening inequality and lack of social cohesion, and eventually to soaring health and pension costs. The potential reward is that future generations of older people will live longer, healthier, and more productive lives.

It’s time for governments to ensure that people throughout Asia and the Pacific can realise their aspirations to live well by ageing well.

More than 17,000 AT&T workers across the Southeast are on strike after accusing company management of “unfair labor practices” during recent contract negotiations.

A statement released Friday by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) — the union representing the striking employees — said AT&T did not bargain in good faith and sent negotiators who didn’t have any authority to make decisions.

“Our union entered into negotiations in a good faith effort to reach a fair contract, but we have been met at the table by company representatives who were unable to explain their own bargaining proposals and did not seem to have the actual bargaining authority required by the legal obligation to bargain in good faith,” said CWA District 3 Vice President Richard Honeycutt.

“Our members want to be on the job, providing the quality service that our customers deserve. It’s time for AT&T to start negotiating in good faith so that we can move forward towards a fair contract.”

The union said it had filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.

The striking workers include technicians, customer service representatives, and AT&T wire installation workers.

In a statement to NPR on Saturday, AT&T denied the company was breaking any labor laws and said it’s eager to negotiate a new contract.

“CWA’s claims of unfair labor practices are not grounded in fact,” the company said. “We have been engaged in substantive bargaining since day 1 and are eager to reach an agreement that benefits our hard-working employees.”

AT&T cited three other agreements reached this year with 13,000 employees in other states as evidence that it was committed to reaching a deal.

The company also said customers shouldn’t have to worry about any service disruptions and that it had backup measures in place to keep operations running smoothly.

The strike affects workers in nine states, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.