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Celebrate ageing: Know your rights and live your life

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Maroondah City Council has joined forces with the six other Eastern Metropolitan Region councils (Boroondara, Knox, Manningham, Monash, Whitehorse and Yarra Ranges)  to tackle ageism across the region.

This campaign supports the national EveryAGE Counts campaign project and aims to tackle ageism by:

  • raising awareness about ageism
  • challenging myths about and stereotypes of older people
  • encouraging people to speak up and take action.

What is ageism?

Ageism is stereotyping, discrimination and mistreatment based solely on a person’s age. When it is aimed at older people, ageism comes from negative attitudes and beliefs about what it means to be older.

Ageism exists when someone is considered ‘too old’ for something like a job or promotion. Essentially, it is a lack of respect for older people. It affects people’s self-confidence, quality of life, job prospects and health. At its extreme, ageism contributes to elder abuse.

What you can do?

engAGE short story competition 2022

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The EngAGE short story competition was a joint project between Maroondah City Council and Eastern Regional Libraries as part of the wider Tackling Ageism Together campaign.

Primary and secondary school students are asked to write about a special older person who has helped to shape or change their life. The competition also supports the EveryAge Counts campaign on ending ageism.

Winners 2022

This year we received 88 entries from a diverse range of students.

  • Pre-primary category: Tess Williams who wrote about her Nanna Joanne
  • Primary category: Tara Verma who wrote about her Nanna Ravinder and Nathanael Siow who wrote about his grandfather Ong Oai
  • Secondary school category: Elliot Wong who wrote about his late grandfather Jimmy Tan.

View the winning entries:

Pre-primary category - winning entry - Tess Williams  (pdf, 104KB)

Primary category - winning entry - Tara Verma  (pdf, 100KB)

Primary category - winning entry - Nathanael Siow  (pdf, 100KB)

Secondary school category - winning entry - Elliot Wong  (pdf, 98KB)

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We invited the community to support our Tackling Ageism short story competition by submitting a short story (max 200 words) about a special older person for a chance to win a $100 book voucher. The competition, in partnership with Eastern Regional Libraries, was launched to support the EveryAGE Counts campaign on ending ageism.  We were pleased to announce the winners of the Tackling Ageism short story competition today on Ageism Awareness Day, 1 October 2021. 

The winners all received a certificate as well as a $100 book voucher. All participants received a certificate of participation. The entries showed enormous respect and appreciation of older people especially grandparents/great grandparents having significant positive influences on the younger person

Winners

Preschool to Prep category - Amity Kwong (Tinternvale Primary School)

Amity wrote about her Por Por (Grandmother) Soo Ch’ng who gives her lots of hugs and kisses and also takes her to the park.

Ageism writing competition winner Amity Kwong (Tinternvale Primary School)

Primary School category - Thomas Sampson (Croydon Primary School)

Thomas credits his Grandma Sheryn Quinlivan with encouraging his learning and caring for him when he is down.

Ageism writing competition winner Thomas Sampson (Croydon Primary School)

Secondary School Category - Jaynee Ghediya (Ringwood Secondary College)

Jaynee wrote about receiving strength and inspiration from her great grandmother Kanta Ghediya’ resilience during the latter’s difficult childhood.

Ageism writing competition winner Jaynee Ghediya (Ringwood Secondary College)

Merits

  • Preschool to Prep category: Tavi Jones, Adrian Bradbury, Maximus Reincke, Paige Robilliard     
  • Primary School category: Holly Neville, Jessica Zhou, Jude Mckeown, Liam Hastings, Tara Verma
  • Secondary School Category: Piper Banks

 

 

 

  • Anne Ring has contributed to the planning stages of the EveryAGE Counts campaign as one of the voices encouraging other older people to get involved in challenging negative views about ageing and older people.  She promotes a positive approach to ageing in a diversity of ways: being great role models for positive ageing; congratulating the media and public figures who are pro-ageing; and suggesting to those who haven’t yet woken up to the power of the old, that it’s time to realise the positives of ageing!

    Meet Anne Ring, crusader for ageing!

21/05/2021
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