What if life after 60 is not a period of decline, but the beginning of one of life's most rewarding and meaningful chapters? As Australians live longer, healthier lives, traditional ideas about retirement and old age are being challenged. Many people can now look forward to 30 or even 40 years of active, engaged and purposeful living beyond the age of 60. This lively and interactive symposium explores the changing nature of ageing through the ideas of four influential thinkers: Australian social researchers Hugh Mackay and Ian Hickie, and French writers and philosophers Simone de Beauvoir and Didier Eribon. Drawing on contemporary research and thought-provoking discussion, the course examines how society views ageing, retirement, elderhood, wellbeing, social connection and personal purpose.

Whether you are approaching retirement, embracing your mature years, or simply interested in the social changes reshaping later life, this course offers fresh insights, stimulating conversation and practical inspiration. Discover why many researchers now see ageing not as an ending, but as an opportunity for growth, learning, contribution and renewal.

DELIVERY MODE

Face to face

COURSE RESOURCE

• Hugh Mackay 2024 The Way We Are
• Ian Hickie - the Unlearn Project Sydney University - podcast December 2022
• https://www.sydney.edu.au/engage/events-sponsorships/sydney-ideas/2025/slow-ageing.html
• Australian Institute of Family Studies, Factors and effects of social isolation for older people, February 2024 - www.afis.gov.au
• Human Rights Commission, Older Workers not wanted, 30 June 2026
• https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/publications/ Age, assumptions and access at work
• NSW Council on Ageing Report 2026
• Simone de Beauvoir, (1970) Coming of Age

COURSE OUTLINE

• Learn about recent social research findings, and ideas local researchers say about the almost unseen Quiet New Revolution.
• The ideas of big name Australian and French writer-philosophers are reviewed and then discussed by participants, in an 'old style', at-ease environment of respectful engagement, discourse, thoughtful dialogue, expression and civil exchange of ideas and views about our Mature Age years from 60 onwards.
• Explore ideas that four Big research writers have to say about the reshaping and expansion of an outdated, demeaning social label, ‘Old Age.’ 

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Feel a boost in confidence exploring and expanding what it is for you to be, and do, in our over-60 newly defined 'Mature Age' years.
• Continue  to 'Unlearn Retirement' as Ian Hickie recommends, and feel one's 'elderhood' as a valued  place in Australian society.