‘Old’ has been redefined: archbishop
Melbourne’s Anglican Archbishop will host a public conversation on ‘ageing’ in Melbourne.
The notion of ‘old’ has been redefined by significant improvements in quality of life for many older Australians, according to the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne Dr Philip Freier.
Dr Freier has invited three celebrated older Australians to join him in a public conversation about their reflections on the ageing process.
Tamie Fraser, Noeline Brown and Jim Coulter will share their experiences of what it means to be a ‘senior’.
Among the key issues to be discussed will be mobility, access to healthcare, transport, information and community activities as well as connections with family and friends.
“As a society, we need to be seriously considering policy issues relating to our rapidly ageing population, as people are living longer, and the number of senior citizens will rise significantly as the baby boomers approach 70-plus,”Dr Freier said.
Australia’s inaugural Ambassador for Ageing and conversation participant, Noeline Brown, believes there are many upsides to ageing.
“There has been a good deal of media attention on the possible negatives of Australia’s rapidly ageing population,” she said.
“But it will also create a largely healthy, independent older population that can form a valued social resource providing care, sharing skills and knowledge and contributing to the community through volunteering.”
In her role Ms Brown spends time debunking some of the common myths about ageing while promoting respect the value of older Australians.
“Older people continue to make a significant contribution to the community well after they retire from paid work,” she said.
“Australians aged over 55 contribute almost $75 billion per year to the economy in unpaid work.
“Many services in our communities would be neither available nor affordable if we didn’t have older volunteers.”
The free discussion will be held on Wednesday 22 April from 7.30-8.45am at BMW Edge, Federation Square, Melbourne.
