Each year Carers NSW holds its Annual General Meeting (AGM). All members of Carers NSW are invited to attend the AGM.
The AGM is held to elect the Directors of the Board of Carers NSW and provides an opportunity to inform members of Carers NSW of previous and future activities.
The 2017 Founders' Lecture was presented by Deirdre Croft, a qualified journalist, public communications consultant and a carer for her adult son, Richard. Over the course of Richard’s life, Deirdre has been a passionate advocate for the rights of people with disability, and especially the rights and needs of people with intellectual disability and their families.
The 2016 Founders’ Lecture was presented by Petrea King, Founder and CEO of the Quest for Life Foundation. Petrea spoke of the many Ds in life that can stop you in your tracks and cause you to consider how best to meet the challenges faced; a diagnosis, a death, a depression, a despair, a divorce, a disloyalty, a drama, a disaster, a disappointment; and noted the importance of how you respond to these Ds when you are seeking peace.
The many carers who attended the Founders’ Lecture gave such positive feedback on the talk and appreciated in particular the coping strategies Petrea shared.
The 40 Years of Carer Surveys in NSW report was also launched at the Founders’ Lecture by Carers NSW CEO, Elena Katrakis. The report offers a historical perspective of Carers NSW Carer Surveys and highlights shifting organisational priorities, also revealing that several important aspects of carers’ experiences and needs remain somewhat unchanged, even after 40 years.
Download the report or visit the Research page to find out more about the Carers NSW Carer Surveys.
Please click here to see the 2013 Carers NSW Founders' Lecture video
The inaugural Founders’ Lecture was presented by Professor Henry Brodaty, an internationally recognised authority on ageing and dementia. Professor Brodaty currently serves on a number of Government committees including the Commonwealth Dementia Taskforce and the Aged Care Reform Implementation Council. He is also Professor of Psychogeriatrics at the University of New South Wales and is Director, Aged Care Psychiatry and Head of the Memory Disorders Clinic, Prince of Wales Hospital.
Professor Brodaty’s lecture focused on dementia and the economic, social and psychological impacts it has on carers and the wider community. He also discussed ways to improve outcomes for carers and patients with dementia through counselling and other interventions.
View the presentation.
The 2011 lecture was presented by Christine Aggar. Christine is a former carer who has a nursing background spanning 26 years. She is currently a Research Assistant and PhD Candidate at the University of Sydney and is a member of the Carers NSW Board. Christine’s lecture presented research which examined the bereavement experiences of women who had cared for a palliated spouse, and research involving carers who support frail older family members. A key theme of the lecture was the importance and significance of carer research.
Read the lecture.
The 2010 lecture was presented by Sue O’Reilly, a journalist, mother and carer. Sue is a strong advocate of the proposed National Disability Insurance Scheme and wrote the first in-depth article on this issue, The Struggle For Care, published in the Weekend Australian Magazine in March 2009. She is also a co-founder of the grassroots political lobby group Australians Mad as Hell.
Read her presentation or listen to the audio file.
The 2009 lecture was presented by Caroline Jones, a writer and broadcaster who has worked at the ABC for more than 40 years. Caroline is the recipient of a number of awards for her work in broadcasting, reporting, producing and writing. In 2009 her book, Through a Glass Darkly, A Journey of Love and Grief with my Father was published. Caroline cared for her father and stepmother for the last years of their lives.
Listen to the audio file.
The 2008 lecture was presented by Dr Simon Longstaff, Executive Director of the St James Ethics Centre. Dr Longstaff reflected on the ethics of caring, and the question of caring in a good society. The lecture was inspired by The ethics of caring in a good society: a national conversation, a joint project conducted by Carers NSW and the St James Ethics Centre
Read the presentation.
The 2007 lecture was delivered by Michael Fine, Associate Professor in Sociology at Macquarie University. Michael knew Clare Stevenson personally, and cites her as one of his inspirations when he started out as a researcher and activist in the field of ageing and care. Michael is the author of A caring society? Care and the Dilemmas of Human Services in the 21st Century.
Read the presentation.
The 2006 lecture was presented by Geoff Atherden. Geoff is an Australian television writer, best known for the sitcom Mother and Son. His lecture focused on storytelling, and the importance of public broadcasting to ensure we have stories about ordinary people, leading ordinary lives.
Read the presentation.
Carers NSW acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land, Elders past and present and all Aboriginal people.