ECU Social Ageing (SAGE) Futures Lab

Global demographic change caused by population ageing has become a topic of concern that demands action from international, national, regional and local policy makers. Recognising this challenge, the World Health Organisation (WHO) developed the Age-friendly Cities and Communities approach as a best practice model. This is a globally recognised method for developing appropriate policy responses tailored for local conditions that are based on bottom-up participatory community consultation.

Western Australia is a national leader in age-friendly planning at the local government level. Between 2006 and 2016 the Western Australia Department of Local Government and Communities (DLGC) - including the former Department for Communities - funded local governments in Western Australia to conduct age-friendly research and planning in their local government areas. DLGC commissioned researchers from the SAGE Lab to undertake a qualitative and systematic review of the Age-friendly Communities Local Government Grants Program in January 2017. The review highlighted four emerging areas that are critical to the evolution of the age-friendly approach in coming years.

The Stories and Skills – Across the Generations Project was developed to address some of the key concerns of older City of Belmont residents, including losing social connection, having limited opportunities to meet with younger people and reservations about new technology. The project was developed primarily as an intergenerational life story project with the addition of an Information Communication Technology (ICT) component for all interested participants, to assist with increasing their confidence and skills in this area.

Part of this project involved younger people capturing the stories of their older partners. Capturing these stories has taken us on a journey of discovery regarding the similarities and differences between us all. These stories take us far north to Marble Bar in Western Australia, across the seas to Ireland and on travels across the continent and across the world. We learn of love and loss and the challenges and triumphs of living a long life. We hear of the importance of family and the value of friendships.

A toolkit has been developed that may assist other organisations and community groups wishing to implement a similar project. The Stories - Across the Generations book contains excerpts from the stories shared with our volunteers at weekly meetings over a three month period. Both the book of stories and toolkit can be downloaded via the links below through the City of Belmont website.

• Download Stories - Across the Generations.
• Download Toolkit.

Social Connection and Digital Skills: An evaluation of digital literacy training for diverse older people

Digital technologies are now so integral to our lives that not having full access limits our ability to lead independent lives and to participate fully in society. However, many older people missed the information technology agenda that is now part of mainstream education, resulting in a lack of confidence to engage with the Internet at a high level. This age-based digital divide is impacting access to many services, particularly given that, in Australia, the government currently prioritises access to information and services through its online platforms, including for aged care.

This Digital Literacy Project aimed at finding the best ways to facilitate the sustainable delivery of digital literacy skills training to support digitally inclusive communities by upskilling older people to be able to better access and use online resources and services confidently and safely, as well as enhancing their understanding of how to connect socially using digital means.

The project, was funded by an Age-Friendly Communities Social Connectivity Grant and led by the City of Wanneroo in collaboration with the City of Stirling and the City of Joondalup. Members of the SAGE Lab were engaged to develop, implement and evaluate digital skills training models and approaches that could facilitate the sustainable delivery of programs to support the digital literacy inclusion of older people in these three cities. This project was completed by Professor Loretta Baldassar and Bronte Jones while working in the SAGE Lab at The University of Western Australia (UWA).