On Friday 21 June, we were honoured to host the 2019 Governor’s Leadership Foundation Program into ‘Inclusive Communities – a disability and ageing perspective’. Throughout the morning, we heard from Ms Julianne Parkinson (CEO, Global Centre for Modern Ageing) who shared trends and insights into the opportunities of ageing in the modern world, Miranda Starke, (Head of the Plug – in Council of the Ageing (COTA)) who highlighted the needs of older people and the issues associated with Ageism and Kerry Jones (Principal, Redesigning Ageing, The Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI)) who talked about the importance of redesigning the way we live as we age.

These distinguished speakers then joined a panel alongside two GCMA co-designers, Vicki Jarnis and Vince Ross to discuss the pressing issues associated with ageing that need to be addressed. After morning tea, we were humbled to hear the personal journey of Ann Smith, a powerful mental health advocate and sobering statistics into mental health shared by SA Mental Health Commissioner Chris Burns CSC.