2022 U3A Conference - Hosted by U3A Bendigo

This conference will feature a unique style of attendee participation - an opportunity to help develop a whole-of-U3A statement of needs, wants and plans - as well as the many attractions of meeting in one of Victoria’s most picturesque and cosmopolitan cities. Building Back Better is the post-COVID theme, with U3As looking to the future. Network encourages every general member to be part of this conference. Imagine all 104 U3As represented at the conference! What a photo opportunity, and what an exchange of ideas and a development of friendships. Another bonus - the conference dates are early in Victorian Seniors Month, with free public transport available to and from Bendigo.

I think all of us are already working to build back better – and here is a chance to interweave our common ideals and goals. All U3As are invited to notify the conference by email of their nominees.

Susan Webster - Immediate Past President, U3A Network Victoria

Costs and subsidies

Registration for the conference is $180 per person, which includes the program, the welcome cocktail party on Sunday evening, lunch on Monday and Tuesday, and morning and afternoon teas on both days.

One Member U3A Discount Ticket is available for each Victorian U3A. To register for Discount Ticket, Member U3As should email president@u3abendigo.com with the name of their U3A and the name of their nominee. Price of the Discount Ticket is $80. The conference team will match U3A nominees with registration emails and invoice accordingly.

Travel

Free public transport is available during the time of the conference for Victorian Seniors Card holders. In addition, some help is available to assist with travel costs for U3A-nominated members of a Victorian region at 50 cents per kilometre or a tank of fuel, whichever is the lesser amount. This is available for one car per U3A attending the conference. The application form for U3As to claim reimbursement for travel costs can be found here.

Victorian Dining and Entertainment Program

The Victorian Dining and Entertainment Program is back - perfect timing to allow conference participants to take full advantage of it! This Program allows you to claim 25 per cent cash back when you spend $40 or more on dining or entertainment. Please see the guidelines here.

Who should attend

Representatives from Victorian U3A committees of management, general members of Victorian U3As, representatives from interstate U3A Networks and the U3A Alliance Australia are all warmly invited to book in to attend this conference.

Information about the themes of the conference can be accessed here.

On International Day for Older Persons, and the start of Seniors Month in Victoria, join us for the official welcome.

Highlights include

• Welcome to Country: by a representative of the Dja Dja Wurrung and the Taungurung Peoples of the Kulin Nation

• Welcome to Bendigo Address: Mayor Andrea Metcalf

• Opening Address: Commissioner for Senior Victorians, Gerard Mansour

This event includes entertainment provided by U3A Bendigo, finger food and refreshments.

Meet the conference facilitator

Bruce McKenzie is an experienced facilitator with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and services industry. He is skilled in Systems Thinking approaches to complexity, business and community planning, user experience, coaching, and entrepreneurship. He is a strong research professional with a Master of Applied Science focused in Systemic Development from the University of Western Sydney and a Master of Applied Buddhist Studies focussed on the interface of Buddhism and Systems Thinking. Bruce is very much looking forward to meeting representatives from Victorian U3As at the conference.

To find out more about conversation mapping, one of the techniques in the Systemic Thinking toolkit, refer to this video.

8:00 am: Morning ramble: Meet at the walking track opposite the conference centre to start your day off the right way!

9:00 am: Welcome by Cheryl Hardie, President, U3A Bendigo

9:15 am: Setting the Scene – The strategic elements of Building Back Better presented by Susan Webster, Immediate Past President, U3A Network Victoria

9:40 am: Building Back Better program commences under the leadership of Bruce McKenzie. Multiple topics, concerns, experiences and wisdom will be explored and addressed concurrently using a process called Systemics.

Morning tea and refreshments will be available throughout the morning.

12:30 pm - 1:30 pm: Lunch accompanied by entertainment by U3A Bendigo

1:30 pm - 5:00 pm: Building Back Better program continues.

Afternoon tea and refreshments will be available throughout the afternoon.

5:00 pm: Day 1 closes

8:00 am: After all the fun of Day 1, enjoy another ramble around the lake, meeting again at the walking track opposite the conference centre.

9.00 am: Welcome Back: Bruce McKenzie.

9:10 am: Choose from one of two events:

• Event One: Finalise the Building Back Better outcomes from Monday

• Event Two: Bucket List Making for Seniors presented by Anne Henshall who was a Bucket List Coach before her recent retirement

10:30 am - 10:45 am: Morning tea break

12:30 pm - 1:30 pm: Lunch accompanied by entertainment by U3A Bendigo

1:30 pm - 4:00 pm: Listeners and Responders session facilitated by Bruce McKenzie

4:00 pm: Conference closes

Learn more about the speakers

In May 2019, the Victorian Government announced the reappointment of Gerard Mansour as the Commissioner for Senior Victorians until 2023. A widely respected and outstanding advocate for the needs of older people, with over 30 years of leadership experience within the aged and community services sectors, Gerard was appointed as the inaugural Commissioner for Senior Victorians in 2013. 

Cheryl hails from Mildura and she and her husband Ian chose to move to Bendigo in 2006.  She retired as Executive Director and Company Secretary for the Community Foundation for Bendigo and Central Victoria after seven years in 2015, and has worked in the not-for-profit sector since 2003.  She was also Company Secretary, Director and Senior Partner in a small number of other private companies and associations.

Prior to moving to Bendigo, Cheryl was a member of the Senior Management Team of the Sunraysia Institute of TAFE for 16 years, and was also a Director of the Lower Murray Water Authority.  It was during her time of employment with Sunraysia TAFE that she convened and facilitated the establishment of Sunraysia U3A, despite not being old enough to be a member at the time. Cheryl was elected President of U3A Bendigo in 2022.

Susan Webster, was the immediate past President of the peak body for the U3A movement in Victoria from March 2018 to September 2022. Susan’s foundation principle is that the U3A movement benefits seniors. Under her leadership she is working to grow the movement and build skills and capacity in U3As to benefit more and more seniors.

Working with Network’s leadership team since 2010, Susan has used her presidency to develop the individual U3As into a united expression of purpose and recognition of goals.  This has been achieved through clarifying the U3A message and assisting all U3As to understand and adopt this message. 

Anne Henshall has been a Bendigo resident for the past twenty-four years and has almost made it to being a local.

After years of jumping between a myriad of fantastic jobs and owning her own businesses, Anne took on a new challenge becoming one of the first licensed Bucket List Coaches in the world. Now in fourteen countries, Bucket List Coaching is a new and innovative way of living life on purpose.

Anne Grigg rapidly pivoted from a remarkable career in Primary Teaching and Leadership to adult education in her significant works in Kingston and beyond with Kingston University of the Third Age (KU3A) and its State Network, the U3A Network Victoria.

 Her work has helped hundreds of older Kingston residents, most of them living alone, to remain engaged, connected and stimulated in normal and lockdown times. She has successfully shared expertise in running committees, managing volunteers, recruiting tutors, and enlisting new members. Anne is the newly elected President of U3A Network Victoria.

Accommodation

A range of accommodation is available, from home stays to caravan parks, motels and hotels. Click this link to go to the City of Bendigo’s accommodation page for the conference: 2022 U3A State Conference, hosted by U3A Bendigo.

Home stays with U3A Bendigo members are available, but it is recommended that you enquire quickly, using the button below.

Local attractions in Bendigo

“Discover Chinese culture at the Golden Dragon Museum, go underground at the Central Deborah Gold Mine, try wheel throwing at the Bendigo Pottery and see the best of the city from a vintage tram.

Explore the gastronomic delights of Bendigo with a foodie tour - taste seasonal food grown locally before enjoying a local wine or local beer at the end of the day. Wine and dine within goldfields-era architecture, visit a cellar door, explore Bendigo’s shopping scene and don’t leave without experiencing the latest Bendigo Art Gallery exhibition.”

Ref: bendigoregion.com.au

Interested in finding out more?