The Older Womens Network is a self-help organisation committed to promoting the rights, dignity and wellbeing of older women.
The Older Womens Network in NSW believes in a society rich in social capital, where mutual respect and trust are paramount, where diversity and debate are valued and where people and their networks have a legitimate voice.
In 1987, one year after the Older Womens Network began, a small group of older women travelled to Canberra to highlight the invisibility and concerns of older women.
In a presentation of songs and skits on the lawns outside Old Parliament House, they drew attention to the fact that older women were no longer content to remain invisible and silent about their lives and political concerns. This was the beginning of the OWN Theatre Group.
Our Theatre Group is currently made up of fourteen women between the ages of 65 and 79, most with no previous stage experience.
The aims of the Theatre Group are to present a positive image of ageing; to educate, inform and entertain; to give older women the opportunity to explore their talents and participate in all aspects of theatre work, and to enjoy life to the fullest.
While the issues addressed in our skits and songs are serious, our Theatre Group is well known for original, feisty and satirical performances. The cast write the lyrics and scripts, presenting topical issues in a different and effective way to audiences of all ages each year at conferences, seminars, forums and community events.
Our repertoire includes:
Women Centre Stage - Devised for the 1990 Premiers Forum, features a 30 minute look at a-day-in-the-life-of an (invisible) older woman.
Showing Our OWN Age - Devised for the 1991 Premiers Forum, features 30 minutes of skits about surviving the health system.
Our OWN Time of Life - Devised in 1992 for International Day of the Elderly, features 15 minutes of skits and songs sending up media portrayals of older women.
Our Say - Devised for the 1994 Premiers Forum, features a 15 minute send-up of Hospital Casemix and its impact on older women.
Superwoman - Devised in 1995 for a national womens conference, features a 15 minute critique of superannuation and its effects on older women.
International Year of the Older Persons Show - Devised for the 1999 Premiers Forums, features the lived experiences of older women and emphasises the importance of intergenerational connections. The length of his show can be varied to accommodate different time slots.
WOW! - Devised in January 2000, features 30 minutes of skits and songs which highlight current issues that concern older women. Issues include hospital waiting lists, nursing homes, GST and banks.
Doing Our OWN Thing - Devised in 2001, focuses on fairies, banks, volunteering, mutual obligation, reconciliation and multiculturalism!
Older Women on Show - Created in April 2002, is focused on government decisions and ethics, peace, and company directors who assist their companies to go down the gurgler!
Performing groups have more recently been formed in Wagga Wagga, Newcastle and the Illawarra region. These local groups offer opportunities for older women to exercise and develop their skills in an atmosphere of support and plain good fun.
Through their performances, they encourage audiences to recognise and comprehend the many issues that can negatively affect the lives of older women.
For more information, please phone the Coordinator via the number below or email via the link below.
Beginnings
The establishment of the Older Womens Network in Australia goes back to 1985 when a number of older women and workers in the NSW Combined Pensioners Association (CPA) made a bold decision to establish a network focused solely on older women and the issues that specifically concerned them.
With funding from the Family and Childrens Services Agency and the Myer Foundation, a pilot project was developed within the CPA called The Older Womens Network Educational Program.
Two project workers were employed in 1986 to research, design and conduct workshops for older women on a broad range of issues including health, housing and home maintenance.
At the completion of the one-year project in 1987, the Older Womens Network was established as an ongoing, self-help group whose aim was to empower older women through participation in decision-making about issues that concerned them.
In 1988, a small grant was received from the Australian Womens Weekly bicentennial project, Women Celebrate 88. Older women from the Older Womens Network, Combined Pensioners Association and Womens Liberation joined forces to write a series of satirical scripts and lyrics which they performed on the lawns outside Old Parliament House, Canberra. This event marked the beginning of the Sydney Theatre Group - often described as the jewel in OWNs crown!
Another small grant was received in 1988 from the Consumer Health Forum to run a series of health workshops for older women. To this day, health and wellbeing remain central concerns for OWN members.
In 1990 OWN moved into premises owned by the City of Sydney at Millers Point and in 1991 it was incorporated.
There are 14 OWN Groups in NSW. A national body, OWN Australia, was established in 1993 to act as a lobby group for older women and to liaise with other national womens organisations. OWN Australia is coordinated by representatives from OWN groups in NSW, Victoria, Western Australia, Queensland, Tasmania and the ACT.
Ten years after incorporation, OWN Inc. was de-incorporated, and the new peak body, OWN NSW, was incorporated. A new group, OWN Sydney, was also established.
With a small recurrent government grant from the NSW Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care and dedicated volunteer workers, the Older Womens Network in NSW has grown into a strong and dynamic organisation, managed and run on a day-to-day basis by older women volunteers.
Postal Address:
Older Womens Network NSW,
87 Lower Fort Street,
Millers Point NSW 2000 Australia.
The Older Womens Network is a self-help organisation committed to promoting the rights, dignity and wellbeing of older women.
The Older Womens Network in NSW believes in a society rich in social capital, where mutual respect and trust are paramount, where diversity and debate are valued and where people and their networks have a legitimate voice.
In 1987, one year after the Older Womens Network began, a small group of older women travelled to Canberra to highlight the invisibility and concerns of older women.
In a presentation of songs and skits on the lawns outside Old Parliament House, they drew attention to the fact that older women were no longer content to remain invisible and silent about their lives and political concerns. This was the beginning of the OWN Theatre Group.
Our Theatre Group is currently made up of fourteen women between the ages of 65 and 79, most with no previous stage experience.
The aims of the Theatre Group are to present a positive image of ageing; to educate, inform and entertain; to give older women the opportunity to explore their talents and participate in all aspects of theatre work, and to enjoy life to the fullest.
While the issues addressed in our skits and songs are serious, our Theatre Group is well known for original, feisty and satirical performances. The cast write the lyrics and scripts, presenting topical issues in a different and effective way to audiences of all ages each year at conferences, seminars, forums and community events.
Our repertoire includes:
Women Centre Stage - Devised for the 1990 Premiers Forum, features a 30 minute look at a-day-in-the-life-of an (invisible) older woman.
Showing Our OWN Age - Devised for the 1991 Premiers Forum, features 30 minutes of skits about surviving the health system.
Our OWN Time of Life - Devised in 1992 for International Day of the Elderly, features 15 minutes of skits and songs sending up media portrayals of older women.
Our Say - Devised for the 1994 Premiers Forum, features a 15 minute send-up of Hospital Casemix and its impact on older women.
Superwoman - Devised in 1995 for a national womens conference, features a 15 minute critique of superannuation and its effects on older women.
International Year of the Older Persons Show - Devised for the 1999 Premiers Forums, features the lived experiences of older women and emphasises the importance of intergenerational connections. The length of his show can be varied to accommodate different time slots.
WOW! - Devised in January 2000, features 30 minutes of skits and songs which highlight current issues that concern older women. Issues include hospital waiting lists, nursing homes, GST and banks.
Doing Our OWN Thing - Devised in 2001, focuses on fairies, banks, volunteering, mutual obligation, reconciliation and multiculturalism!
Older Women on Show - Created in April 2002, is focused on government decisions and ethics, peace, and company directors who assist their companies to go down the gurgler!
Performing groups have more recently been formed in Wagga Wagga, Newcastle and the Illawarra region. These local groups offer opportunities for older women to exercise and develop their skills in an atmosphere of support and plain good fun.
Through their performances, they encourage audiences to recognise and comprehend the many issues that can negatively affect the lives of older women.
For more information, please phone the Coordinator via the number below or email via the link below.
Beginnings
The establishment of the Older Womens Network in Australia goes back to 1985 when a number of older women and workers in the NSW Combined Pensioners Association (CPA) made a bold decision to establish a network focused solely on older women and the issues that specifically concerned them.
With funding from the Family and Childrens Services Agency and the Myer Foundation, a pilot project was developed within the CPA called The Older Womens Network Educational Program.
Two project workers were employed in 1986 to research, design and conduct workshops for older women on a broad range of issues including health, housing and home maintenance.
At the completion of the one-year project in 1987, the Older Womens Network was established as an ongoing, self-help group whose aim was to empower older women through participation in decision-making about issues that concerned them.
In 1988, a small grant was received from the Australian Womens Weekly bicentennial project, Women Celebrate 88. Older women from the Older Womens Network, Combined Pensioners Association and Womens Liberation joined forces to write a series of satirical scripts and lyrics which they performed on the lawns outside Old Parliament House, Canberra. This event marked the beginning of the Sydney Theatre Group - often described as the jewel in OWNs crown!
Another small grant was received in 1988 from the Consumer Health Forum to run a series of health workshops for older women. To this day, health and wellbeing remain central concerns for OWN members.
In 1990 OWN moved into premises owned by the City of Sydney at Millers Point and in 1991 it was incorporated.
There are 14 OWN Groups in NSW. A national body, OWN Australia, was established in 1993 to act as a lobby group for older women and to liaise with other national womens organisations. OWN Australia is coordinated by representatives from OWN groups in NSW, Victoria, Western Australia, Queensland, Tasmania and the ACT.
Ten years after incorporation, OWN Inc. was de-incorporated, and the new peak body, OWN NSW, was incorporated. A new group, OWN Sydney, was also established.
With a small recurrent government grant from the NSW Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care and dedicated volunteer workers, the Older Womens Network in NSW has grown into a strong and dynamic organisation, managed and run on a day-to-day basis by older women volunteers.
Postal Address:
Older Womens Network NSW,
87 Lower Fort Street,
Millers Point NSW 2000 Australia.
