‘Living Longer, Living Well’ – 11 September 2019

Living Longer, Living Well – 11th September 2019

Living Longer, Living Well was a dynamic one-day event that brought together leaders from Australian government, academics, older people’s groups, students and clinicians to explore the potential of design and design research to inform strategy and reframe notions of ageing in place. The event was organised by and hosted by ThinkPlace, a strategic design consultancy who work with global leaders to create new and better futures.  It represented a strategic collaboration between Dr Fanke Peng at the University of Canberra, ThinkPlace and Lab4Living. Lab4Living’s Dr Claire Craig and Helen Fisher have been in Australia recently working towards this collaboration.

Claire and Helen facilitated the day in three separate sessions where they shared their research, methods and themes emerging from the literature to frame and to build understanding of the 100-Year Life. A key element of the day was to learn about what the 100-Year Life might mean for Australia and to gain insights into how design and design research in perceived. The events of the day were as follows:

Leaders’ Breakfast event: The Leaders’ Breakfast event brought together key individuals from Universities, Aged Care and government. Claire shared a range of research that had been undertaken by Lab4Living in the context of design and ageing and through a series of questions which acted as provocations, rich discussion and debate emerged to offer insights into the global landscape.

Design Workshop: The design workshop included design students as well as government representatives from health, education, community, environment and sustainable development. Claire and Helen explored ways to build authentic opportunities for engagement through the use of creative research methods. Exhibition and object-elicitation were just two approaches that delegates had the opportunity to experience as a way of building understanding of the experiences of older people. Using a visual representation of the multi-stage life, workshop attendees then created ‘design briefs’ for future researchers working in this space. These briefs spanned policy and practice across education and the financial sector as well as health and housing.

Design Masterclass: The design masterclass used the collaboration tool Initiate:Collaborate (developed by Lab4Living and the Good Health Design Lab in Auckland) to work through the practical steps required to engage in inter-sectoral collaborations.

Of the event Claire reflected: ‘This has been an incredible opportunity to work with an extraordinary group of individuals in Canberra. We are overwhelmed by the generosity of individuals in creating this space and in the richness of the insights that have been shared.’

Read more about Claire and Helen’s visit to Australia here.

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Claire Craig is Reader in Design and Creative Practice in Health in the Art & Design Research Centre (ADRC) and Co-Director of the interdisciplinary research group Lab4Living. Claire’s research focuses on the role of creative practices in improving quality of life and well-being for people living with dementia.

Helen Fisher is a Research Associate at Lab4Living. Follow Helen @HelenFisher_.

Follow Lab4Living here.