More than 300 guests celebrated Seniors Festival with Cardinia Shire Mayor Cr Graeme Moore and fellow Councillors at the Cardinia Cultural Centre on Wednesday 16 October.
Enjoying Devonshire Tea and the intriguing life of Edith Piaf through story and song, attendees took the opportunity to ‘get into it’ as suggested by this year’s Victoria Seniors Festival theme.
Cr Moore praised the state-wide festival and encouraged the Cardinia Shire community to continue to work to decrease ageist attitudes and help raise social interactions amongst seniors.
“Council has an ongoing commitment to create an ‘Age-friendly’ shire, and aims to support older adults in our community to improve and maintain good social connections and wellbeing,” Cr Moore said.
“However, results from a recent 2019 Cardinia Ageing Well Survey and Ageing Well community workshops indicated that there is much work to be continued to reduce the likelihood of loneliness and social isolation for older residents in our community. I implore the entire community to see ageing in the positive light it is and encourage seniors to maintain their community connections.”
Cr Moore also acknowledged the energy of the Cardinia Age Friendly Alliance Group, who represent the voice of seniors in the Cardinia Shire.
Since initiating the idea of the Ageing Well in Cardinia Newsletter last year Cardinia’s Age Friendly Alliance Group have supported more new and innovative projects such as:
- The Forget me not Café – an initiative that supports those living with dementia and their carers
- The Aged Care Information Hub – where local senior volunteers trained by Council of the Ageing have been trained to provide important information and guidance to those investigating their options and My Aged Care.
Over the next 12 months, a high priority of the alliance agenda will be connecting seniors to their community through local opportunities.
