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Making the Connections: Non-Metropolitan Older People and Technology

Senior Project Director at the Rural Development Centre, Ros Foskey designed and ran this conference as part of Australia's contribution to the International Year of Older Persons in 1999. Financial support for the conference was provided by the Commonwealth Office of Older Australians, the National Office of the Information Economy, the International Council of Canadian Studies, the University of New England and the Rural Development Centre.

The Launch: The conference was launched on Australia's Seniors On-Line Day in September 1999, with a national chat session hosted by the Minister for Aged Care, the Hon. Bronwyn Bishop and Dawn Fraser, the Patron for Seniors On-Line Day. The 'attendance' at the conference was well in excess of the 289 official registrations with many more people gathering around access points across Australia.

The Workshop: The conference continued on-line and was followed up with a one-day workshop by videoconference with Australian participants from Charleville to Flinders Island. Discussion centred on the issue of whether information technology was meeting the needs of older people, and the workshop was joined by by guest speakers from Sydney and the Hon. Bronwyn Bishop from Parliament House in Canberra.

The International Conference: The culmination was the two-day international conference held at the University of New England in November 1999, with keynote speakers from Canada and South Australia. The report on the key issues and solutions identified during the conference can be downloaded below.  It can also be obtained by contacting the Institute for Rural Futures.