EVERY GENERATION POSITIVE AGEING AWARDS

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (15:48): Two weeks ago I had the pleasure, with my wife, of attending COTA's Every Generation Positive Ageing Awards dinner, representing the Minister for Health and Ageing, the Hon. John Hill, at the Adelaide Intercontinental Hotel. The dinner was held to honour and recognise those in our community who exemplify positive ageing and challenge the societal stereotypes of ageing. The many finalists came from all walks of life and I was delighted to hear all about the great work they are doing in our community.

Other distinguished guests who attended the event were the Chief Executive of COTA SA, Mr Ian Yates, the President of COTA SA, Mr Chris Overland, the Executive Director of Disability, Ageing and Carers, Dr David Caudrey, and Adelaide Thinker in Residence, Dr Alexandre Kalache. Some of the awards given on the night included the AVEO Live Well Outstanding Achiever Award. The two finalists, Cholly Winter and Eileen Smith, have a combined contribution to worthy causes in our community of an amazing 75 years.

The two finalists nominated for the Beyond Blue Every Generation Positive Images Award were the Holdfast College for Seniors—the community college which is established on a volunteer basis to provide lifelong learning for seniors—and the Helping Hand Aged Care, Media Resource Centre and ECH's program which was 'Telling my story'. This brought together older people experiencing early-stage dementia, their carers and young filmmakers.

I had the pleasure of announcing the Department for Families and Communities Every Generation for Young and Old Award winner. The finalists in this category worked to bring together younger people and older members of our community. I was thrilled to hear about these programs which are creating innovative ways of enhancing intergenerational relationships through music, art, life stories, cooking and games.

COTA's Every Generation Positive Ageing Awards dinner has followed the Every Generation Festival for 2011. The festival has been coordinated by COTA for over 30 years and runs through the month of October, with partners across the state holding a myriad of events to celebrate the festival. The festival provides an opportunity for older South Australians to showcase their skills, talents, interests and their lifetime of contribution to this state, their families, friends and their local communities.

The official launch of the festival took place on 30 September during the International Day of Older Persons celebration and was attended by over 1,800 people at the Festival Theatre. There was also a country launch of the event in Port Elliot, which occurred on 7 October. This was held in conjunction with the Alexandrina Council intergenerational vintage ball. Both of these events, I am told, were a great success.

During October, over 200 festival partners held 1,300 events and activities across the state. I hear that this is the largest amount of clubs, groups and organisations ever to be involved in the Every Generation Festival. As part of the festival, the state government offered free entry to a number of venues on 7 October, including many of the state's national parks and reserves, the Bicentennial Conservatory, Carrick Hill, the Maritime Museum and others. The events reflect the community spirit that exists throughout South Australia and provide an opportunity for the community to bring together people of all ages to celebrate the diversity of older people.

In 2010, South Australia had 257,000 people aged 65 and over, and this represents 15 per cent of the population. COTA's Every Generation Festival showcases the skills, interests and talents of older South Australians and is a marvellous contribution to our community. I congratulate COTA on this initiative.