Ageing in Australia Expo 2015 Wrap-Up
The Ageing in Australia Expo 2015 was held on Saturday 2nd May at the Melbourne Town Hall - the free public event was a huge success, with over 50 exhibitors connecting with 700 people from all over Victoria. The Ageing in Australia Expo was hosted by the Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing and was the third event of its kind, with the first Expo taking place in 2011.
The Expo attracted record number of people and facilitated great engagement from of both service providers and the public.
The Expo provided a great opportunity for older people and their families to find out about the range of services available to them. People were able to ask questions of aged care providers, government departments, ethnic community organisations, health services and more. Interpreters and bilingual staff assisted with communication of many languages including Cantonese, Mandarin, Croatian, Polish, Spanish, French, Italian, Greek and Serbian. Exhibitors praised the interpreters, many commenting that they were a great resource, and provided opportunities for meaningful and informative conversations. Many of the exhibitors also provided printed information in languages other than English.
Exhibitors were also provided with great networking opportunity, to exchange information and ideas and stay in touch for future collaborations.
Feedback from organisations involved in the Expo was overwhelmingly positive and emphasised the great opportunity provided to directly connect with members of the public from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Many stated that it was great to be able to connect with people and communities that they would otherwise find difficult to reach. One exhibitor said it was “wonderful to have reached so many from diverse communities in such a short time”.
An extensive promotional campaign ensured that details of the Expo reached as many people as possible. In-language SBS Radio advertisements, 3AW community service announcements and newspaper adverts were among the strategies used to reach many different communities in Victoria. Promotional flyers were translated into 13 languages and distributed widely throughout our extensive networks.
The fantastic response from community members highlighted the critical need for health and aged care information in languages other than English.
We would like to thank our sponsors who made the event possible – City of Melbourne, Polaron Language Services, Department of Health Victoria, Benetas and the Department of Social Services.
See the Expo photo album on our Facebook Page
