- 18 organisations share in $232,000 funding through the Age-Friendly Communities Connectivity Grants Program
- Program encourages age-friendly initiatives and positive ageing strategies
- Cook Government committed to promotingage-friendly communities which support positive ageing and encourage participation in community life
Cook Government's Age-friendly Communities Connectivity Grants Program will see 18 Western Australian organisations and local governments share in $232,000 of funding.
The program, delivered in partnership with Local Government Professionals Western Australia, fosters the development of age-friendly communities, in which people are respected, feel safe and have opportunities for social, cultural and economic participation in community life as they age.
Grants of up to $15,000 have been awarded to local governments and not-for-profit organisations to undertake initiatives that build older peoples' connection to community.
A second funding stream has been made available to help local governments progress work to join the World Health Organisation's Global Network for Age-friendly Cities and Communities.
This network supports local governments to become age-friendly by connecting them with an international cohort of cities and communities which are committed to building great places to age.
Among the funded projects isa "Tea and Tech" session run by the Shire of Merredin, where tech-savvy youth volunteers are paired with seniors to provide personalised guidance on how to use technology confidently and safely.
Radio Margaret River has received funding to produce a series of podcasts in which seniors are invited to share personal stories about transformative "Eureka" moments in their lives.
The Shire of Pingelly will deliver community education sessions to challenge ageism and promote age-friendly attitudes.
More information can be found here https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-communities/age-friendly-communities
As stated by Aged Care and Seniors Minister Simone McGurk:
"Age-friendly communities strengthen community support and increase inclusion to ultimately benefit the whole community.
"We are investing in building more inclusive communities by supporting older Western Australians to live active lifestyles.
"The Age-Friendly Communities Connectivity Grants Program encourages innovative strategies and pilot projects to test new ways of growing age-friendly communities."
