I attended yet another seminar on aging issues this week. I know that such seminars do have an important role in the development and exchange of ideas. However, as I listened, I became acutely aware of the time/energy/cost demanded by the vast weight of meetings, learned papers, Government and Council departments, seminars, workshops, organisations, research, policies, strategies, staff training, working papers, committees, and more, and how little

focus was placed on the actual on ground social justice outcomes, that all of the above were established to achieve.

I became aware that, while I was enjoying  a free lunch, someone somewhere was likely to be lying beside their bed with a broken hip for a few days, before, and by default, a meals on wheels volunteer found them.

It's 2008, not 1908, and we've had enough of the over emphasis on analysis and theorising. I think that it is time for Governments to do a hard audit of just how much is spent in administration in all of it's guises, and how much actually gets through to the needy. 

I'd say a target of 75% for on ground outcomes, and 25% for the  'overheads' should be about right.

You will be hearing  lot more on the application of the new Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) in the future. Words like e-learning, e-health and e-work, are increasingly being applied to we the ageing, as part of improvements in our future quality of life and staying independent longer, which such ICT technologies can assist.

Some examples are the reduction of social isolation provided by chat rooms, video home alert systems, webcams, on line courses, on line shopping, and more. There is promise too, that increasingly, secretarial and other work can be done from home, offering some people extra opportunity to earn, (and be involved).

One interesting development overseas, is a very large aged community, where everyone's TV sets can tell them what shows the others are watching, and who is on line in their local network and available for a chat.

To gain the most from these technologies, broadband should be free for the needy aged and disabled in our community.

Ever wondered about Probus? The Probus movement had its genesis in the U.K. and was named the Probus Club, for the “pro” in professional and the “bus” in business, which also made up the Latin word from which the word “probity” is derived. Both were formed to meet the need for companionship of their peers and mental stimulation for retired business and professional men.

Since then, Probus has developed into a world-wide movement in twenty three countries providing a social avenue to meet the needs of retired and semi retired men and women.

The philosophy for Probus is Fellowship, Friendship and Fun.

Click here for contact information

I read a few weeks back, (in a reliable but since lost report), that  at a convent in Italy where the Nuns will their bodies to science on death, it was found that the more highly intelligent among  them showed no signs of dementia throughout their lives. However, on later dissection, it was found that they had exactly the same percentage of dementia type brain damage, as the less intelligent nuns and normal population. The conclusion was, that active brains rewire as fast as they lose old connections. Today we posted an article, (see the Health SIG), on the increased cognitive ability of those who are on line, versus a control group of readers only.

It seems that the strain of reasoning ones way through the endless user unfriendly Internet and computer software, has its benefits!  A silver lining in the cyber cloud it seems. The simple adage is "Use it or lose it!". All the more reason for the lonely, frail and/or ill amongst us, to be stimulated by being visited and interacted with.

Brian is one of the nation’s great band of volunteers and he was chosen for his zest for life, humanitarian instincts and sense of adventure. At the age of 64, Brian was made redundant from his job and directed to do two days a week volunteer work if he was to receive the Newstart Allowance. This was all it took to inspire Brian and his wife Wynne to join the world of travelling and volunteering. Since then, Brian and Wynne have travelled and worked in NSW with Conservation Volunteers Australia; joined a volunteer mission building team in Papua New Guinea: and has travelled and camped out through much of Outback Australia.

Click here for more on Brian and his wife's activities.