Welcome to the Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing's new monthly e-newsletter. Each month we'll be bringing you the latest news, resources, professional development information and examples of best practice in the area of cultural diversity in ageing. We thank you for subscribing and invite you to share your ideas so that together we can improve the quality of life for older Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Pako Festa 2011

Pako Festa will be held on the 26th February in Geelong, Victoria. It is the largest free celebration of cultural diversity in Australia. Every year, since 1983, it attracts scores of people from our local and cultural communities, professional performers, community groups, schools, businesses, street traders and artists from all walks of life.

Coming together in harmony, up to 100,000 people meet to enjoy a smorgasbord of cultural food, folk dancing, the famous Pako Parade, workshops, art exhibitions, films, craft displays, free activities for children and an amazing day of non-stop entertainment.

Pako Festa prides itself as being a free event, accessible to all who want to share the enriching experience of multiculturalism. All you need to bring for a great day out is a happy heart and an open mind.

The event will take place from 9am to 6pm, Pakington Street in Geelong West.

For more information visit the Pako Festa website.

Geelong Greek Community Needs Analysis

In January 2011, Australian Greek Welfare Society’s (AGWS) CPP project conducted a consultation to identify the needs of the Greek speaking community in Geelong. The consultation looked at the capacity of the older Greek speaking people to make informed decisions about aged care services. The aim of the consultation was to inform the development of strategies that would increase access to local aged care and health care services.

A survey was also undertaken with service providers to identify barriers to service access faced by Greek speaking community in Geelong. Identification of service barriers would assist in the development of strategies to improve communication between community and services, increase the resourcing of the community and ensure better access to services.

AGWS worked in collaboration with Diversitat for this project.

Upon the conclusion of the project the results and the report will be made available on the Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing website.

For further information, contact Adonis Maglis (AGWS) on
Ph: 03 9388 9998 or email: antoniosm@agws.com.au

2011 Chinese New Year Celebration by Chung Wah Community & Aged Care (Perth)

On February 16, a special Chinese New Year celebration was held by the Chung Wah Community & Aged Care (CAC) in Perth for the Asian communities.

There were approximately 250 people who attended the event, mostly Asian seniors under community care services. Some residents under residential care services also attended with the company of representatives from their respective facilities.

Attendees were delighted with the arrangement of traditional Chinese New Year performances such as lion dance, Chinese New Year songs presentation and dance performances. In addition, a Chinese New Year market was also available for attendees to shop before and after the luncheon.

Members of the community with Chung Wah Community & Aged Care Services staff in God of Wealth costumes.

beyondblue: Caring For Carers in CALD Communities

A FREE booklet for carers, The beyondblue Guide for Carers ‐ Supporting and caring for a person with depression, anxiety and/or a related disorder is now available in Greek, Italian, Arabic, Mandarin, Dari and Vietnamese.

This booklet provides carers from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities with practical strategies, advice and guidance on how to deal with situations they might face. There’s also advice for carers on how to look after their own health. The booklet gives insights into the impact that the caring experience may have on them.

The FREE translated carer guides are available to download via the beyondblue website.

You can order the Guides from the info line 1300 22 4636 or via infoline@beyondblue.org.au.

 
Multilingual Dementia DVD's

The Multicultural Communities Council of Illawarra (Wollongong NSW) has produced a series of DVDs entitled 'It's not a disgrace- It's Dementia', available in Ukrainian, Portuguese and Serbian. An Arabic version will be available soon. The DVDs are a valuable resource to assist in increasing access to dementia support services in aged care.

For this initiative, The Multicultural Communities Council of Illawarra took out the National Multicultural Marketing 2010 Grand Award for promoting greater understanding of dementia to older people in the Ukrainian, Portuguese, Serbian and Arabic communities.

The cost of a DVD is $5.50 (Postage costs apply). For more information, please contact  Liz Arroyo - Multicultural Dementia Carer Support Coordinator, Multicultural Communities Council (Wollongong NSW).

Telephone: (02) 4276 4364 or (02) 4229 7566
Email: liza@mcci.org.au

New Translated Continence Information Factsheets

The Department of Health and Ageing has now completed the update of the translated factsheets about incontinence. Factsheets are now available in the following languages: Arabic, Chinese (traditional and simplified), Croatian, Dinka, Dutch, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Macedonian, Maltese, Persian, Polish, Serbian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Turkish and Vietnamese.

The factsheets are available on the Department of Health and Ageing Bladder and Bowel website.

Victoria

Melbourne CAREX 2011

6th-7th April 2011- Caulfield Racecource, Melbourne

After a decade, Melbourne CAREX has earned its title of "Australia's Premier Health & Aged Care Expo". In 2011, Melbourne CAREX will be presented on April 6 & 7 at the Caulfield Racecourse. Open each day from 0930-1600 - attendance is FREE.

CAREX is a professional event for CEOs, DONs, Managers, Health/other professionals, carers & all interested staff working in acute, residential, home, community, retirement or disability care organisations. CAREX represents a unique opportunity for information, education, networking, review & investing. With its mix of product & service based exhibitors.

The Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing will participate at Melbourne CAREX 2011 so please come and visit us at our stand.

Melbourne CAREX 2011 will once again feature a terrific line up of 18 free mini workshops. The Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing will present a mini workshop: Effective communication strategies in aged care and the role of bilingual staff.

For the full list and for registration for these mini workshops, visit the CAREX website.

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Communities 2011

12th-13th May 2011- Rendezvous Hotel, Melbourne

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities 2011 Conference will explore how inclusive policies and services can better support CALD background communities participation. The conference willl scrutinize the experiences had thus far by ethnic Australian communities and identify the solutions to ensure Australians from all backgrounds benefit from Australian social and economic infrastructure.

The Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing will be conducting a pre-conference workshop in collaboration with Polaron Language Services: Developing accessible multilingual materials and services for the aged care sector.

For more information visit the Informa website.

The Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing is a Victorian-based organisation supporting the aged care sector to address the needs of older people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

We encourage you to contribute to our e-newsletter. Please submit your culturally-inclusive initiatives, projects, resources and upcoming events. We would love to hear from you.

Email us at: info@culturaldiversity.com.au