Strategies to support Australia’s ageing population will be discussed by a world expert at an upcoming University of Queensland sponsored conference.
Aged communication specialist Professor Jon Nussbaum will examine how Australia can maximise the untapped potential of our ageing population and the factors that contribute to the success of the ageing process.
Entitled The Ageing Advantage – Creating Strategies for Successful Ageing, the one-day conference on Thursday, July 25 will be held at the Clunies Ross Centre for Science and Industry, Brisbane Technology Park, Eight Mile Plains from 8.30am – 4pm.
“There are many dimensions to the ageing process that warrant discussion and research,” said UQ Australasian Centre on Ageing Director Professor Helen Bartlett.
“In particular a shift in society’s attitudes towards retirement and later life is needed to break down the perception that older people are a burden and no longer have anything to offer.
“There are many valuable contributions made by older people to society that need to be recognised to break down negative stereotypes.”
Dr Nussbaum, who is a Professor of Communication, Arts and Sciences at Penn State University, United States, has spent the past 20 years exploring the way people age and believes that communication, ageing and health and inextricably linked.
He has written more than 60 books, journal articles and book chapters on the subject and has presented papers at more than 100 international conferences.
Other speakers will include Professor Bartlett; Dr Robert Norton, Norton Consulting Group Director; Peta Jervois, Queensland Government Department of Families, Seniors Interest Branch Director; David Deans, National Seniors Association Chief Executive Officer; and Yvonne Zardani, Australian Pensioners and Superannuants League President.
The conference is aimed at government departments wanting a multidisciplinary approach to ageing, practitioners or individuals wanting to develop strategies for successful ageing and better ways of communicate with older adults, and academics focusing on ageing, communication and health.
It is sponsored by the Australasian Centre on Ageing and the Queensland Government Department of Families.
For further information or to register, contact Dr Catherine Norton on telephone (07) 3893 2987, email: conferences@nortonconsultinggroup.com or visit: www.nortonconsultinggroup.com
Media: for further information, contact Wendy Danalis at the Australasian Centre on Ageing (telephone 07 3346 9084 or email: w.danalis@uq.edu.au) or Peter McCutcheon at UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 1088 or email: p.mccutcheon@uq.edu.au).
