Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing E-Newsletter

Issue No. 24 / May 2015

Ageing in Australia Expo 2015

The Ageing in Australia Expo 2015 was held on Saturday 2nd May at the Melbourne Town Hall - the free public event was a huge success, with over 50 exhibitors connecting with 700 people from all over Victoria. The Ageing in Australia Expo was hosted by the Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing and was the third event of its kind, with the first Expo taking place in 2011.

The Expo attracted a record number of people and facilitated great engagement from of both service providers and the public.

The Expo provided a great opportunity for older people and their families to find out about the range of services available to them. People were able to ask questions of aged care providers, government departments, ethnic community organisations, health services and more.

Interpreters and bilingual staff assisted with communication of many languages including Cantonese, Mandarin, Croatian, Polish, Spanish, French, Italian, Greek and Serbian. Exhibitors praised the interpreters, many commenting that they were a great resource, and provided opportunities for meaningful and informative conversations. Many of the exhibitors also provided printed information in languages other than English.

Exhibitors were also provided with a great networking opportunity, to exchange information and ideas and stay in touch for future collaborations.

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Policy Development for Inclusive Aged Care Services Workshop

The Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing is running a free professional development workshop on Friday 12th June in Melbourne titled 'Policy development for inclusive aged care services'.

This workshop will assist aged care providers to develop policies designed to enhance inclusive service delivery. It will introduce an organisational framework for developing culturally inclusive policies, identify areas for policy development and provide examples of policy implementation.

Included in the workshops are morning tea, workshop materials and certificates of attendance.

This workshop is only open to staff currently working in Victorian approved aged care services. 

Date: Friday 12 June 2015
Time: 9.00am - 1.00pm
Venue: Leading Age Services Australia (LASA) Victoria,
Level 11, 600 St Kilda Road, Melbourne.

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Welcome Maya Ebrahimi!

Maya Ebrahimi recently joined the Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing team.  She brings to the team vast experience in nursing, teaching and workforce training. 

Maya’s experience as a registered nurse in aged care facilities brings to the team valuable knowledge which will ensure relevance of the training we provide to the aged care sector.

Since migrating to Australia from Iran in 2008, Maya has completed a Graduate Diploma in Aged Care and Masters in Gerontology at Flinders University. Currently she is undertaking a PhD at the University of South Australia, School of Nursing and Midwifery which explores how overseas qualified nurses adjust to the Australian health care system. At the University of South Australia she was a lecturer in the Australian Registered Nurses Training Program.

Maya is happy to be involved in work where she can call on her passions for nursing, training and diversity.

Dr Olga Kanitsaki AM on the Victorian Honour Roll of Women

Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing congratulates Dr Olga Kanitsaki AM, who was this year added to The Victorian Honour Roll of Women in recognition of her efforts to establish a more culturally-responsive health care system in Victoria.

The Victorian Honour Roll of Women recognises the achievements and contributions of remarkable Victorian women who have demonstrated leadership and excellence in their field of expertise, interest or endeavour. The Honour Roll includes 500 women since it was first established in 2001.

In addition to her work with the health system she has become active in the aged care sector.

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'Your Rights at Retirement' in Chinese, Greek and Italian

'Your Rights at Retirement' is a guide for retirees and older Australians in regards to legal and financial advice, access to health care and other rights. The document, produced by the Australian Human Rights Commission is now available in Chinese, Greek and Italian languages.

'Your Rights at Retirement' covers topics such as: your right to work, health and aged care; your right to be free from violence and abuse; your right to information; accessing information through the internet; your right to plan your will and other 'end of life' decisions and more. 

Download here

Fire Safety Booklet in 21 Languages

Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board (MFB) has produced a Home Fire Safety Booklet to assist people in assessing the risk within their homes. 

An insert with information specific to aged and disability fire safety has also been created to accompany the Home Fire Safety Booklet. These resources are available in English and 21 other languages.

For the hearing impaired, these resources are available as audio files (English only).

Download here

FECCA Conference 2015

The FECCA 2015 National Biennial Conference – Multiculturalism in Action: Building a better future for all Australians – will be held in Sydney on 5-6 November 2015. This year's conference is organised jointly by the Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia (FECCA) and the Ethnic Communities' Council of NSW (ECC NSW).

The conference will draw together leading decision makers, thinkers and practitioners to discuss and debate key issues that relate to Australia's multiculturalism. These will be explored through a series of plenary addresses, panel discussions and presentations.

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COTA National Policy Forum 2015

The genders have a very different experience of later life.

People's life experiences are also strongly influenced by such factors as culture, language and location. These and other aspects of human diversity affect the experience and meaning of gender in older age too.

In 2015 COTA Australia will again bring together a group of outstanding individuals to explore what is needed to ensure that the genders have the same opportunities and are equally well prepared for later life.

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Spreading the word about Palliative Care

Palliative Care Victoria has issued 10 media releases in community languages to promote National Palliative Care Week 2015, which will take place from 24th - 30th May.

Palliative Care Victoria acknowledges the Arabic-speaking, Chinese, Croatian, Greek, Italian, Macedonian, Maltese, Polish, Turkish and Vietnamese communities for their support of this program of community education about palliative care.

Spokespersons from several of the lead community organisations are assisting to get coverage of palliative care in their community language media during National Palliative Care Week.

Read more about Palliative Care Victoria