MEDIA RELEASE
Thursday, 6 August 2020
For the first time in its 60 year history the Queensland Seniors Week will be presented virtually, with the Week’s first day Saturday 15 August being dubbed ‘a Day of Solidarity between Generations’, especially fitting given the need for us to remain connected and look out for each other.
Last year the “OK Boomer” hashtag was making global headlines. It became a derisive catchcry for members of younger generations to express frustration and disrespect towards older people they felt were out of touch.
Financial inequality, housing affordability, and climate change have become particular areas in which intergenerational tensions and ageism – on both sides – have escalated.
During COVID-19 a new mantra has emerged – we are all in this together.
Our communities are made up of people of all ages who care about and value other people, whether they know them or not, and whatever their age.
Council on the Ageing (COTA) Queensland Chief Executive Mark Tucker-Evans said Queensland Seniors Week provides opportunities for people across all generations to connect.
“We need to keep those connections, keep showing intergenerational solidarity, keep showing each other respect and care after the pandemic is over.
This pandemic could change forever the way we live together in our communities”
“28 500 people have signed up to the Care Army to look out for those who are older, vulnerable, or in quarantine yet most older people have said they don’t need the support. The Care Army is now supporting international students as well as vulnerable seniors.
The theme of this year’s Queensland Seniors Week is ‘Celebrating Queensland Seniors’, and our first day being a ‘Day of Solidarity between Generations’, acknowledges how important family relationships are to the health and well-being of people of all ages, particularly in the lives of our seniors.”
“When we connect with people of all ages and backgrounds, we often find that there is more that connects us than divides us.”
Queenslanders are invited to gather with family and friends, young and old, to enjoy a specially curated online event on Saturday 15 August, to kick off this year’s Queensland Seniors Week (15 – 23 August 2020).
Presented by Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) and COTA Queensland, this special event called Drawn Together celebrates the powerful relationships that exist across generations.
Featuring a hosted in-conversation over morning tea and a variety of performances recorded in QPAC’s Concert Hall and venues in Cairns and Townsville, the 40-minute free event will be streamed online on Saturday 15 August at 10.30am. Conversation guests will include Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO and QPAC Elder in Residence Aunty Colleen Wall and a variety of artists and performers along with their own young people, discussing both complicated and light-hearted topics of our time.
Interspersed with performances by some of Queensland’s leading musicians and artists, the conversation will broach ideas of happiness, family heritage, and the value of the arts to individuals and to the community.
QPAC and COTA Queensland present:
Drawn Together
WHEN: Saturday 15 August 2020 at 10.30am
WHERE: Streamed online via qpac.com.au
TICKETS: FREE
DURATION Approx. 40 mins
MORE INFO: www.qpac.com.au or phone 136 246
Queensland Seniors Week and Drawn Together are funded by the Queensland Government.
To find out more about Seniors Week visit qldseniorsweek.org.au
