Embolden2018
Our inaugural Embolden Festival was held at the beautiful City of Port Phillip Town Hall in October 2018. It included a Market of Great Ideas, Symposium and Fashion Parade. Over 250 delegates attended, around 60% were service providers, and the remainder were mostly older people. Fifty six presenters shared innovations for challenging ageism and building respect for older people and 16 organisations and services provided sponsorship or other support.
The vibe at Embolden2018 was constructive and energetic and the evaluations revealed an average rating of 4.8/5 for usefulness. Embolden is now firmly locked into the Celebrate Ageing calendar as an annual event.
This archival page enables delegates and change makers from around the country (and around the world) to draw on the resources developed at Embolden2018. The Embolden2018 Collection is a beautiful and useful summary of the Embolden2018 highlights.
Thanks to film maker Chris Franklin for the beautiful videos on this page and to photographer Julian Meehan for the fabulous photographs. The following video provides an overall view of Embolden2018.
The vibe at Embolden2018 was constructive and energetic and the evaluations revealed an average rating of 4.8/5 for usefulness. Embolden is now firmly locked into the Celebrate Ageing calendar as an annual event.
This archival page enables delegates and change makers from around the country (and around the world) to draw on the resources developed at Embolden2018. The Embolden2018 Collection is a beautiful and useful summary of the Embolden2018 highlights.
Thanks to film maker Chris Franklin for the beautiful videos on this page and to photographer Julian Meehan for the fabulous photographs. The following video provides an overall view of Embolden2018.
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Acknowledgements
Embolden2018 was a self-funded event and would not have been possible without our sponsors, supporters and volunteers. Thanks to the City of Port Phillip who provided us with the beautiful St Kilda Town Hall and helpful staff.
We are particularly grateful to our sponsors - listed at the bottom of the page. We would also like to thank our volunteers, including: June Lowe, Vicki Blackmore and Rachel Jones collectively flew and drove around 13,000kms to volunteer. Thanks also to Jackie Murdoch and the older people who volunteered, to the City of Wangaratta for their support and particularly Mayor Ken Clarke and community leader Robert Floyd. Thanks also to Jennifer Wang from Bridge to Chinese for translation and interpreting for the Fashion Parade.
We are particularly grateful to our sponsors - listed at the bottom of the page. We would also like to thank our volunteers, including: June Lowe, Vicki Blackmore and Rachel Jones collectively flew and drove around 13,000kms to volunteer. Thanks also to Jackie Murdoch and the older people who volunteered, to the City of Wangaratta for their support and particularly Mayor Ken Clarke and community leader Robert Floyd. Thanks also to Jennifer Wang from Bridge to Chinese for translation and interpreting for the Fashion Parade.
Embolden2018 collection
The Embolden2018 Collection is now out and details the event highlights and resources - click the link here or the image below. Please also see our resource of abstract details for presenters and Market of Great Ideas Program by clicking the link here.
The Hon Ken Wyatt AM, MP
Thank you to the Hon Ken Wyatt, Minister for Aged Care, Minister for Indigenous Health and Member for Hasluck for a powerful video address to Embolden you can watch the video below.
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Aunty Jacko
We were honoured that Aunty Jacko provided a plenary address. Aunty Jacko, or Judy Jackson, is a Gunggari woman and Elder, who is regarded by many as the glue that binds the Aboriginal community in the City of Port Phillip. Aunty Jacko provided this message for the foreword of the Embolden2018 Collection: The indigenous mob have respect for their Elders and its always “Aunty” when they see you. It’s one of the main things in our culture – to have respect for Elders. And we have to earn that respect and trust. Aunty Jacko we are grateful for the opportunity to learn from you and the staff from the Yirramboi Festival about respect for Elders. Thank you.
Lilia Perton
Lilia Perton is a 90 year old Yoga Instructor who took a master class at Embolden and shared with us the blessing she gives at the start of her yoga classes: Let us come together. Let us be nourished together. May we work with great energy. May our learning be bright and fruitful. May there be no disharmony between us. May we always be friends.
Maggie Beer
Maggie Beer is an Australian cook, food author, restaurateur and food manufacturer. She established the Maggie Beer Foundation to improve the food experiences for older Australians, particularly those living in aged care homes. Maggie sent a message to delegates:
I want to welcome you all here today to the Embolden2018 Festival. The work you have to do over the next two days is so important. Our bodies and our lives change as we age – and while we are different, we are not less because of our age. We still make meaningful contributions to society, we still love and are loved and we still deserve respect. I set up the Maggie Beer Foundation in 2014 to improve the food experiences of older Australians – because we all deserve food that provides the delicious pleasure of engaging all our senses as we eat. Older people deserve food for their souls – and I hope over the Embolden2018 event you find other ways to nurture the souls of older Australians.
I want to welcome you all here today to the Embolden2018 Festival. The work you have to do over the next two days is so important. Our bodies and our lives change as we age – and while we are different, we are not less because of our age. We still make meaningful contributions to society, we still love and are loved and we still deserve respect. I set up the Maggie Beer Foundation in 2014 to improve the food experiences of older Australians – because we all deserve food that provides the delicious pleasure of engaging all our senses as we eat. Older people deserve food for their souls – and I hope over the Embolden2018 event you find other ways to nurture the souls of older Australians.
Market of Great Ideas
The Market of Great Ideas worked like a series of concurrent sessions at a conference – except all the presenters were in one space. Thirty-five organisations, individuals and groups hosted free standing stalls and Embolden2018 delegates moved around the Market talking to the Stall Holders about their great ideas to challenge ageism and build respect for Elders. Market Stall holders provided a bio, description of their Great Idea and their contact details, this information is included in a Presentations Collection - click on the link here.
Made in Italy
This year, the Market had an Italian theme. We asked Italian community members to help us decorate the Market and to share their messages about respect for Elders in Italian culture (see the Embolden2018 Collection for more information). Thanks to the Ormond and Kensington Italian Senior Citizens Clubs for sharing their insights on respect in Italian culture.
This Made in Italy theme resulted in powerful insights about respect for Elders in Italian culture and the story was picked up by SBS Italian (here). It presented an opportunity for cross cultural learning - and for Italian communities to celebrate the tradition of respect for Elders. Some of the messages about respect were:
- I am 94 and I feel respected by everyone - by my family and my children and my neighbours. The neighbours come around to see how I am. The great grandchildren come to visit - my house is always full. I love to cook for them. The neighbours go shopping and buy things for me. I repay people by crocheting for them. I know they love me because they are always checking up on me. I repay them with crochet 2. My children respect me because I take care of the grandchildren. My children take me to a restaurant because my husband doesn't like to go. They take me shopping - I don't have a car. I feel respected.
- I've got one daughter that lives in London - she rings me every week. My son lives in Melbourne - he comes every week and I can cook for him. He is a very nice boy. He loves me. He phones me. He takes me if I need to go somewhere or need something done. He never complains. My grandchildren love me too.
- I try to be as independent as possible. If I need anything I ask my family and they are there for me
- When my children come to see me I play with the grandchildren and I feel young again
- I'm always available for everyone - in sickness - with cakes - first in best dressed - with smiles. I get back what I give. I am loved beyond words. The respect they show me is big. They are always there for me and they take me places. We are united. We are blessed. I feel good when I help people. When they respect me I feel very happy
- I have 3 children - they help me with shopping or to go to the doctor. If I need something the children come - I don't drive. My husband has dementia - so I need their help. I feel loved by my kids - my husband too. My husband loves me so much - he says everyday he must die before me because without me he has got nothing
- I have 5 children - one daughter lives with me and she takes me to the doctor and shopping. My sons ring me every day to see how I am. It is good to have a daughter with me because she respect me. She take me with her. She is a big help. Its true
- I have 4 children and they come and see me every Sunday and that’s lovely. They are always doing their own thing and so its hard to do much. But they come. If I can't get something - they get it for me to save me going out. I feel respected. We all do the best we can. Once a month we have an early dinner
- What I like best is when my son takes me to the cemetery to see my husband. I feel better when I see him - better from my heart
- My daughter rang and said: I want to make apple pie for you mumma. She made nice apple pie for me - make me happy
- When my grandchildren come and visit I feel happy. They come for dinner. We spend time together. I enjoy myself. They remind me of my husband
- I like it when my children take me to the dentist, the doctor and shopping. It feels good. I can’t go by bus or train.
A Fashion Parade called Spunk
In place of the traditional conference networking event – we hosted a Fashion Parade for models aged 65+. The Fashion Parade was called SPUNK. Spunk is an attitude - it is about courage, determination, pluck, spirit, strength, fortitude, guts and grit. In Australia, 'a spunk' is also a person who is sexually attractive.
The Fashion Parade invited participants and delegates to think about beauty as an attitude. We asked our models to tell us what their cat walk attitude was. We also invited models to think about taking their catwalk attitude into everyday life as a protective factor against ageism. It’s about not waiting for the world to be less ageist - it’s about living our lives to the full right now. The Fashion Parade challenged the ageist misconception that beauty is limited to youth. We suggest that beauty changes as we age – but is not less. We wanted to show how older people have grace, style and a sense of play. The Parade celebrated 38 models of a range of body shapes, genders and skin colours.
The Fashion Parade has kick started a new Celebrate Ageing project called Projecting Beauty - click the link here for more Fashion Parade images and go to Alice's Garage to check out the Runway6 page documenting the experiences of LGBTI Elders at the Parade. Thanks to film maker Chris Franklin for producing three beautiful films from the Fashion Parade.
The Fashion Parade invited participants and delegates to think about beauty as an attitude. We asked our models to tell us what their cat walk attitude was. We also invited models to think about taking their catwalk attitude into everyday life as a protective factor against ageism. It’s about not waiting for the world to be less ageist - it’s about living our lives to the full right now. The Fashion Parade challenged the ageist misconception that beauty is limited to youth. We suggest that beauty changes as we age – but is not less. We wanted to show how older people have grace, style and a sense of play. The Parade celebrated 38 models of a range of body shapes, genders and skin colours.
The Fashion Parade has kick started a new Celebrate Ageing project called Projecting Beauty - click the link here for more Fashion Parade images and go to Alice's Garage to check out the Runway6 page documenting the experiences of LGBTI Elders at the Parade. Thanks to film maker Chris Franklin for producing three beautiful films from the Fashion Parade.
click here for the 2018 fashion parade webpage
click here for the runway6 page on lgbti ELDERS AT THE PARADE
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Teaspoons for Respect
This interactive art project invited participants to take a teaspoon attached to a card, and write their strategies for building respect for Elders on the card. The Teaspoons for Respect concept is part of the Tea Cosy project – Transforming the Experience of Ageing and building respect for older people. The teaspoons were arranged to reference a teaspoon rack – which is an icon associated with older people.
Fourty three people wrote their messages about respect and the most common related to listening to older people. Other themes related to learning from older people, fostering intergenerational collaborations and showing kindness. You can check out the Teaspoons for Respect page for more information by clicking the link here.
Fourty three people wrote their messages about respect and the most common related to listening to older people. Other themes related to learning from older people, fostering intergenerational collaborations and showing kindness. You can check out the Teaspoons for Respect page for more information by clicking the link here.
Elder Leadership Academy
The Elder Leadership Academy partners with Elders to challenge ageism and build respect for older Australians. We recognise that Elders have the skills and capabilities to transform their own worlds. We believe we need to move beyond representation, consultation, co-design and co-production with Elders - to co-leadership. The idea for the Academy emerged when Elders approached us with issues they wanted addressed and with ideas about how change could occur. We began working in partnership and saw that Elders, who were resourced and supported, could co-lead change.
At Embolden2018, four Elders graduated as Fellows of the Elder Leadership Academy and we were delighted that Senator Janet Rice and Gender and Sexuality Commissioner Ro Allen presented the Fellows with the Graduation Certificates and hats. A summary of the Fellowships are outlined on the Elder Leadership Academy page here.
At Embolden2018, four Elders graduated as Fellows of the Elder Leadership Academy and we were delighted that Senator Janet Rice and Gender and Sexuality Commissioner Ro Allen presented the Fellows with the Graduation Certificates and hats. A summary of the Fellowships are outlined on the Elder Leadership Academy page here.
A Sense of Place
A sense of place is important to all of us – its significance doesn’t diminish as we age. Place is about belonging and a sense of identity, connection, attachment, geographical location, value, purpose and identity. For the past two years, Celebrate Ageing has been asking older Australians what Place means to them. Our Place365 project has highlighted the importance of place – and also the challenges of ageing and ageing and dis-placement.
A number of Embolden presenters outlined what Place meant to them, how it was disrupted and how they restored a sense of place. We invited them to write letters – powerful stories that could then be shared in the Embolden2018 Collection. Prior to the presentations on Place, we gave delegates a blank post card and asked them to record their response to the following question: What do we need to do to promote a sense of place for older people?
We invited delegates to think about place as a sense of home (and to draw a home on their postcard - see above images) and reminded them to write their reflections after each presentation. Fifty one participants completed postcards with 127 comments about the meaning of place and strategies to build a sense of place. You can read more about these responses on the Place365 page or in the Embolden2018 Collection. One delegate wrote about what place means in the following way:
My tribe. Cultural understanding and being understood for culture. Geography – the landscape that resonates in the inner sense of self. The place of my story – the settings of the scenes of my life. Place is belonging and breathing the air freely. Place is the existence of support. Place is a roof and walls that are safe and warm and comfortable.
A number of Embolden presenters outlined what Place meant to them, how it was disrupted and how they restored a sense of place. We invited them to write letters – powerful stories that could then be shared in the Embolden2018 Collection. Prior to the presentations on Place, we gave delegates a blank post card and asked them to record their response to the following question: What do we need to do to promote a sense of place for older people?
We invited delegates to think about place as a sense of home (and to draw a home on their postcard - see above images) and reminded them to write their reflections after each presentation. Fifty one participants completed postcards with 127 comments about the meaning of place and strategies to build a sense of place. You can read more about these responses on the Place365 page or in the Embolden2018 Collection. One delegate wrote about what place means in the following way:
My tribe. Cultural understanding and being understood for culture. Geography – the landscape that resonates in the inner sense of self. The place of my story – the settings of the scenes of my life. Place is belonging and breathing the air freely. Place is the existence of support. Place is a roof and walls that are safe and warm and comfortable.
Evaluation
Evaluation forms were completed by 41 delegates at the end of Embolden2018. Delegates were asked how useful they thought Embolden2018 was – using a 5-point scale of: very useful (5), useful (4), moderately useful (3), slightly useful (2) and not useful (1). The average rating was 4.7. Opportunities to improve the event were identified alongside comments about what worked, like this one from Fiona:
Wow, just wow! Catherine. I was totally inspired by Embolden and my colleagues were thrilled with their experience. I loved your approach of making the conference accessible, bringing practitioners together with older people and putting older people at the centre of the event. You’re a trail blazer. I hope you allow yourself some time to relax and recover after such a big event. You deserve it! Kind regards Fiona.
You can read more evaluation data and comments in the Embolden2018 Collection.
Wow, just wow! Catherine. I was totally inspired by Embolden and my colleagues were thrilled with their experience. I loved your approach of making the conference accessible, bringing practitioners together with older people and putting older people at the centre of the event. You’re a trail blazer. I hope you allow yourself some time to relax and recover after such a big event. You deserve it! Kind regards Fiona.
You can read more evaluation data and comments in the Embolden2018 Collection.
Media
Thanks to the following journalists who help spread the word about Embolden2018 and covered stories (click on the 'here' symbol to access the article or podcast):
- ABC news: Bush blokes take unusual step to send struggling farmers a message of support. (9/3/19): here
- Maggie Beer Foundation. Celebrate Ageing (25/8/18): here
- Indian Link. Fashion n spunk with Gujarati seniors (18/10/18): here
- JOYFM. Celebrate Ageing Conference (6/10/18): here
- SBS Italian. La comunità italiana rispetta le persone anziane? (4/10/18): here
- Wangaratta Chronicle. Mayor will don flannalette to combat ageism: here
- Star Observer: Group of LGBTI Elders to walk the runway in a Melbourne fashion parade: here
- Aged Care Guide: Older Australians Challenging Perceptions of Ageism. here
- Hello Care: Dawn Quick's remarkable dance classes (24/8/18): here
- COTA Radio Qld with Andy Neil (29/6/18): podcast here
- ABC Radio 774 Melbourne with Myf Warhurst (21/6/18): link here
Supporters and sponsors
We are grateful for our sponsors and supporters for Embolden2018 including The City of Port Phillip, Alfred Health and Caulfield Health; The City of Ballarat; The Care Page; The National LGBTI Health Alliance; Hammond Care Dementia Centre; Seniors Rights Service; Switchboard Victoria; The Ageing Revolution; Aged Care Matters; Better Place Australia; Meaningful Ageing; Bayside City Council; Glen Eira City Council; Knox City Council; and COTA Victoria.