Page 1433 - Week 05 - Thursday, 13 May 2021
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Launched in May 2020, the age-friendly city plan was developed as part of the ACT government’s broader social inclusion agenda. It facilitates collaboration across ACT government directorates and with community partners to progress key actions which address barriers older Canberrans have told us they face in staying mobile and socially connected, accessing services and living free from abuse.
The plan has been built following consultation with and listening to the ideas, concerns and solutions of older Canberrans and key sector stakeholder organisations over a two-year period. I will provide a summary of progress against each of the four focus areas. A full progress report update against each action is available on the Community Services Directorate website.
While the age-friendly city plan sets out a road map for key areas of work to be progressed over a four-year period, it also recognises the need to continue to be responsive to the needs and aspirations of older Canberrans as they change over time. I will therefore also be updating members on additional measures, not directly referred to in the plan, that have been introduced to address new and emerging needs, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first of the four focus areas of the plan that I will provide an update on is: involved, connected and valued. This focus area centres on fostering the active involvement and participation of older Canberrans, with the recognition that these individuals bring experience, wisdom and resources to enrich and strengthen our communities.
In relation to actions identified in the plan, I am pleased to report that a whole-of-government resource to support engagement with older Canberrans is in the process of being developed to strengthen the way in which we engage and communicate with older Canberrans. The ACT government’s engagement with older Canberrans is being supported with 29 per cent of YourSay community members being aged 55 years or older, which is comparable to the census population statistics of 28 per cent.
Work has progressed on the development of whole-of-population measures across the breadth of the ACT government wellbeing indicators, and examination of the extent to which information sets are available from these measures in respect of the various community groups identified, including for older Canberrans. The revitalisation of the Ngunnawal language is being supported by the development of a series of videos which will be made available across the ACT public service following endorsement by the Ngunnawal community. Efforts are underway to support volunteering opportunities through Transport Canberra and City Services with the development of a volunteers gateway system.
While an increase in the number of intergenerational playgroups held across our city was not able to be progressed in its current form due to the impact of COVID-19, both community organisations and government adapted their programs to support intergenerational connections through new methods of engagement. For example, the Community Services Directorate promoted the celebrating seniors initiative, which involved the promotion of a series of activities held across October 2020 to encourage
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