Celebrate Ageing Ltd was born 10 years ago at the second National Elder Abuse Conference in Adelaide. Horrified at the stories of ageism and disrespect, I knew I wanted to create a national primary prevention program. At the time I was working in academia, doing important research on issues for older people - but it wasn't translating to culture change. It struck me how powerful it could be to bring together the world of research with art and narrative based approaches to engage people in wanting to be part of the change. And so Celebrate Ageing was born. This story shares with you the highlights from our first decade.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to do this work - for the amazing team I get to work with and for the wonderful partners we have had. We have kicked some mighty goals and I am very proud of what we have achieved. thankyou all, Catherine Barrett (Founder/Director)
Some of our highlights include: becoming a Charity, the Fellows of the Elder Leadership Academy; working with people living with dementia on love and dementia; being voted the Most Uplifting Facebook Group in the World; being featured in Head of Ted Chris Anderson's new book on Infectious Generosity; hitting over 1/2 million social media followers; working with OPAN on a national project prevent sexual assault; 70+ partnerships, our Founder winning a ProBono Australia Impact25 Award, being shortlisted for a Human Rights Medal, being voted the LGBTI Person of the Year, and being inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll for Women - as a Trail Blazer.
Other highlights include the older people who entrust us with their stories - especially the older people from marginalised communities, the service providers who innovate and share power, the community members who step up to lead, the artists who journey with us and the funding bodies who reach out and say 'we like your work and would like to support you'.
The work of Celebrate Ageing includes programs, partnerships and events. Read on to learn more about our highlights from each of these.
Eight older people have graduated as Fellows of the Elder Leadership Academy. All were leaders in their own right - and our support gave their work wings. Our first and oldest Fellow was 97 year old Margarita Solis, who worked to empower old victim/survivors of sexual assault and educate service providers about the power of listening. Other Fellows educated us about dementia, ageing with polio, LGBTIQ+ inclusion and TGD ageing - their projects have had global reach.
Two Fellows are currently focused on dementia and masculinity and one on connecting older people in rural communities. Check out the ELLA page to read about their projects (here)
The Philippa Campbell Fellowship for Older Women is an annual Fellowship for older women to work on a project combatting the inequalities older women face. The Fellowship honours the life of Philippa Campbell, a wonderful woman who was passionate about respect for older people, equality for women and human kindness. Philippa dedicated much of her life to working with older people, including as CEO of Elder Rights Advocacy, Victoria. Philippa died in 2023, when she was just 56 years of age.
We are delighted to announce Theresa Flavin is undertaking inaugural Philippa Campbell Fellowship and will focus on dementia and sexual consent. Check out the ELLA page for more info (here)
The Centre for Intergenerational Power was formally launched in 2013 - but this work has been with us for a decade. Projects have focused on dementia, acts of kindness, respect for older women, respect in families and Queer inclusion. These projects have taught us that the future is Multigenerational. Our Story Telling Queers Against Discrimination (SQUAD) project (pictured below) resulted in a fairy tale and animation about TGD inclusion and pride. More on the webpage (here)
There is still insufficient recognition of the inequalities older women experience at the intersection of ageism and gender inequality. The She/Hers program includes a suite of projects and campaigns to promote equality and respect for older women. Check out our #OlderWomenCount Campaign and more on the webpage (here).
The OPAL Institute focuses on older people's sexual rights and promoting sexual safety, wellbeing and respect. Highlights include publishing a book on sexual rights, a charter on sexual rights and responsibilities in aged care, coordinating #ReadyToListen, a national project to prevent sexual assault in residential aged care, and Body Mapping older women's sexuality. Check the webpage (here).
The Fashion and Beauty Industry is an important place to challenge ageism. The concept of Projecting Beauty is about resisting internalised ageism and offers wonderful opportunities to engage interest and tackle real culture change. Highlights include the Catwalks Against Ageism fashion parades and the #OldisBeautiful workshops. Check the webpage (here)
Our Kindness work began with the launch of the Kindness Pandemic, an online movement focused on acts of kindness for people doing it tough due to coronavirus. Over 570,000 members joined in two weeks, 70+ groups sprang up around the world and we were named the Most Uplifting Facebook Group in the World at the Facebook Community Awards. This work is featured in Chris Anderson's book on Infectious Generosity. Our Kindness work continues with #GenK intergenerational workshops and the Bank of Intergenerational Kindness.
The Museum of Love develops, collects, preserves and displays items documenting the importance of love in the lives of people with dementia. This work is beautiful and powerful - and unique. We want to spread awareness of the humanness of people living with dementia - because there is so much stigma. We are proud to have published a chapter on dementia and love in the International Handbook on Love - coauthored by a person living with dementia and two care partners. Check out our online collection (here)
The Alice's Garage program empowers older LGBTIQ+ people and promotes healthy ageing. Much of our work has been intergenerational community building. Highlights include The Kinfolk Project (older TGD co-researchers), Rainbow Care Cards and #GenKqueer. Check the website (here)
Celebrate Ageing Ltd was started by Dr Catherine Barrett and now has a wonderful team with a unique portfolio of life experiences and skills. Thankyou to this amazing team for your passion for equity and respect for older people - so excited about our next decade.
© 2026 Celebrate Ageing
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