John Richards didn’t think he would still be around to celebrate 10 years of his research initiative – but he was at La Trobe University to mark the anniversary on Monday.
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It was a comment made to Irene Blackberry, the John Richards Initiative’s director.
“He was amazed to be there, and it’s a testament of how a philanthropic donation and a university partnership can last,” she said.
“Everyone is ageing – we don’t like to talk about it, but it’s just the reality of life.
“Ageing is everyone’s business, so we need to think about it and plan for it.”
In its anniversary year, JRI is undertaking a research partnership with North East Health Wangaratta on ageing well and will host the annual International Symposium on Ageing and Old-Age in Asia Pacific, attended by hundreds of international and domestic researchers.
Dr Blackberry said a strategy would also be developed to guide the next five to 10 years.
“We are looking the direction with stakeholders and John Richards himself, at how we can work together to make a difference to the lives of older people in rural communities,” she said.