U3A in Australia is 40 years old. The occasion was formally recognised during the U3A State Conference co-organised by U3A Network Victoria and U3A Melbourne City, Australia’s first U3A group.
I was privileged to attend the well conducted conference from 3 to 5 October 2024, held at RMIT, along with approximately 170 members from four states and Singapore. The title ‘Forty and Fabulous! Now What’s Next’ was the theme of the meeting. We celebrated where we have come from and what we have achieved, and looked forward with confidence to the future.
There were six keynote speakers; an address by the Minister for Ageing Ingrid Stitt; reports on developments within U3As; and workshops involving all members. The fellowship of like-minded people was adrenaline raising.
Keynote Speakers
Dr Norman Swan spoke about ‘The Ageing Myth and Myths about Ageing’. One myth he dispelled was that while the number of older people with dementia may be increasing, the actual rate of developing it has decreased by 25% over the last 10 years. Very positive news! He also said that Australian research shows that an 80-year-old today has the same chance of surviving for a month as a 60-year-old did 40 years ago. Also, a positive attitude can add up to 7 years to life expectancy. He said that America had dropped to number 37 on the world ageing list because of the ‘despair’ in their middle age group. Australia has not experienced this.
Another optimistic speaker, Dr Rebecca Nisbet from The Florey Institute, outlined current research on cognitive abilities in the older population. This research was commenced because a general survey said that ‘old people (over 62!) were nice, but they were onlookers’. Although they didn’t review niceness, they did find that rather than being ‘onlookers’, this group contained the greatest number of volunteers and community participants outside of the paid workforce and their ability in general had not diminished. Dr Nisbet also stated that a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease will be available during the next decade as the cause is known, but we must find a safe way for the brain to accept the absorption of foreign medication.
Professor Michael Cowling (sometimes known as ‘Professor Tech’ from Radio National) spoke entertainingly on the impact of current and future technology on the Third Age. His message was ‘embrace or ignore’. In many ways technology has already entered our lives, and we are accepting it. He said that older adults are the fastest growing demographic on social media platforms, they buy more Apple watches (probably for health reasons), and they buy through e-Bay and Amazon. We are also the biggest buyers of new vehicles and are demanding all the new safety technology. The development of generative AI should be treated as a persuasion machine, not a truth machine, and is not reliable in most situations.
In every instance, the positive message from all speakers was that people who actively participate socially, physically and academically will continue to have better health and a longer lifespan than those who don’t. U3A is providing that opportunity.
U3A Australia Ltd
A U3A development of note was the announcement of the formal establishment of U3A Australia Ltd. This national body has representatives from each state and is chaired by Glen Wall from Victoria. It has already entered a formal association with COTA (Council of the Ageing Australia) and has joint, direct input to the Commonwealth Government in the same way that our U3A Network has input into the State Government.
International Association
A body that I was not aware of is a formal worldwide committee of U3As and like organisations named IAUTA (International Association of Universities of the Third Age). Our Australian representative is Rhonda Weston from Queensland. Australia has been nominated to hold the International Conference in 2027, with Melbourne bidding to be the host.
Rhonda spoke about the two distinct international approaches to the operation of U3As. The ‘European Model’, commenced by Toulouse University, still has both a physical and academic connection with the universities. The other model is the ‘Commonwealth Model’ from Cambridge University where the U3A is run in and by the community and the courses are not necessarily aligned to any ‘standard’.
This is our model, and research has indicated that it is by far the most beneficial for both individual health outcomes and the physical growth in numbers participating. The supposition is that we cover the social, physical and mental activities while the European model tends to exclude the physical and does not have as much social contact.
Summary
I thoroughly enjoyed the interaction with the other participants during the stimulating workshops and social breaks. I’m also pleased to say that I received feedback that U3A Manningham has the reputation of being the ‘happy club’.
David McNamara
Vice-President