Key Links
The links here are some we have found helpful in re-visioning retirement - re-thinking our 30 'bonus' years so they are satisfying and meaningful. The sites are full of stimulating ideas and information.
Oh...and just for us lucky Western Australians, we have included a special list of links to local services and organisations which you might find useful. You'll find the link to the Western Australian links at the bottom of this page.
American Association
of Retired Persons (AARP)
AARP is an extremely well resourced organisation. There is so much available on its website that it can be a little hard to decide which leads to follow. We have been particularly interested in its articles about mature workers and their employers, but it provides up-to-date news on a wide range of topics: health, IT, politics, community service and so on. Its research is thorough and wide-ranging. Of course, it has a strong focus on the American experience but it is, nonetheless, a rich source of ideas.
Age Concern in the UK is similar to AARP in the US in that both are the premier national body working with and for older people. Age Concern's website reflects its capacity to provide a wide range of up-to-date information - much of which is based on the fact that, as it says, "every day we are in touch with thousands of older people enabling them to make more of life." Age Concern also undertakes research and policy work and conducts campaigns (the current campaign concerns the Queen's speech scheduled for 23 November 2004).
Healthy
Ageing - Quality Ageing
This is an Australian site which collects information from 480 other websites. It organises this rich supply of knowledge through easy-to-use search categories and has the great advantage that searches can be limited to a particular State or Territory. If it has a drawback it is that it tends to associate ageing with decline, which we believe is significantly out-of-touch with the new cohort of 50-60-70 year olds. But for surfing the web, it is not a bad place to start. The service is supported by the Victorian Dept of Human Services, VicHeath and NSW Health
Kaye Healey retirement
counselling
Kaye Healey is a retirement counsellor - and someone who has 'retired' from one career to another of her design. She has written a number of very useful books. We haven't met Kaye - sometime we hope to - her website suggests she is a stimulating companion. The site contains an array of interesting and thought-provoking information.
Social
enterprise and social entrepreneurship
Social-e is a new organisation in Australia to help people interested in building 'social businesses' or 'social enterprises'. These are ventures which have a social purpose - to provide help somewhere in a community - but use a sound business model so the venture becomes self-sustaining. The relevance to Re-vision is that many of the people we meet are interested in knowing more about social enterprise. On an international scale, social entrepreneurship (as it is also called) is achieving a great deal.