Page 1244 - Week 04 - Thursday, 21 March 2013
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The ACT promotes positive ageing within a framework that goes across government and between sectors. We recognise that ageing is influenced by many factors, including socioeconomic circumstances, gender, cultural background, life experience, education and, of course, general health and wellbeing.
We see positive ageing as making the best of ageing. It is about having a good quality of life through social relationships, having a healthy lifestyle and by feeling part of the community. The government seeks to promote each of these areas to ensure that older members of our community do feel valued and that we also take the greatest advantage of their experience, their knowledge and the efforts that they can continue to make to the community.
The government continues to support active social participation for older Canberrans through its seniors grants and sponsorship program. The list of current supported programs is extensive and innovative. It includes the creation of new contemporary dance works for the ACT seniors’ GOLD dance company, a picnic promotional day for older Canberrans at the National Botanic Gardens and a project through the Lighthouse Business Innovation Centre, which aims to match up new business operators with senior business mentors, again taking advantage of that wisdom and experience that sits with so many of our older residents.
As part of the centenary celebrations, the ACT Office for Ageing, in partnership with the National Film and Sound Archive, will present a festival of short and feature length films from 23 July to 27 August this year. This will allow older Canberrans to attend and enjoy a purpose designed film festival within the art deco cinema at the Arc venue there, which features age-friendly facilities.
The government works with the Council on the Ageing and others to present Seniors Week, which I mentioned earlier. It is running right through this week. In February this year the ACT Office for Ageing, working in partnership with the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Canberra business community, created an oasis for older Canberrans as part of the Multicultural Festival. In some ways they were simple measures—a free cup of tea and some seats to sit on under the shady parts of City Walk. But I know that many older Canberrans really appreciated it.
This year also marked the 10th year of the life’s reflections photographic exhibition, with over 200 entries that reflect the positive sides of ageing and capture the energy and the enthusiasm of the older members of our community. It culminated with an awards ceremony at the Canberra Museum and Gallery and a photo exhibition in the Canberra Centre. I would particularly like to thank the Public Trustee of the ACT, Mr Andrew Taylor, for creating, developing and nurturing the competition before handing it over to the Office for Ageing to take it to the next stage.
These are just some of the measures that are in place that the ACT government is either directly delivering or delivering in partnership with others to ensure that Canberra’s older citizens are recognised and that we do our best to make sure they are living a full and active life as they go into their later years.
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