John Beard - Opening Session

John Beard, MBBS PhD, is Director of the Department of Ageing and Life Course at the World Health Organization in Geneva. In this role, he is responsible for increasing international awareness of ageing as a driving force in shaping 21st century public health, and for assisting and guiding the international community to meet the challenges, and to realize the potential benefits, associated with the rapid ageing of their populations.

John commenced his career in primary health care, including several years as medical officer for an Australian Aboriginal Medical Service. Since 1991, he has held a wide range of senior public health and academic roles, both in Australia and in the USA. Immediately prior to taking up his position with WHO, he spent 3 years as Senior Epidemiologist with the New York Academy of Medicine. John has published widely in the international literature. Much of his research has examined the social determinants of health in older adults, although he has also explored the influence of the physical and social environment on health at all ages.

Martin Stewart-Weeks – Moderator

Martin Stewart-Weeks has over 20 years’ experience in organisational management and consulting in the corporate and public sectors and with a wide range of not-for-profit organisations.

Born in Sarawak, East Malaysia and educated in Sarawak, the UK and Australia, Martin has lived in Australia since 1978 after completing his school and undergraduate education in England.

A consistent theme of his professional experience has been public policy and management. He has held senior policy, management and advisory positions for Ministers and government agencies at the federal and state government level in Australia.  In the early 1980s, he held the position of Senior Private Secretary to a Federal Minister and between 1990 and 1996 was a consultant in the Office of Strategic Planning in The Cabinet Office in New South Wales.

In his consulting work over the past 18 years, Martin has specialised in strategy, policy analysis, facilitation and market and social research.  In his work with the Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) at Cisco, Martin’s focus is primarily on the public sector. In January 2007, Martin took up a position as Director for IBSG’s public sector practice in Asia-Pacific, leading a small team of senior consultants working on transformation projects in government, education and urbanisation in India, China, South-East Asia and Australia and New Zealand.

He has been a key member of the global team developing Cisco’s thinking on eGovernment (‘the connected republic’) and government 2.0.  He was a member of the Ministerial Task Force on Government 2.0 which reported to Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner and Special Minister of State Joe Ludwig in December 2009.

Martin holds a BA (Hons) in English from the University of York, a Graduate Diploma in Applied Economics from Canberra University and a Masters in Social Science and Policy from the University of New South Wales.

Jeffrey Tobias – Key Input Presentation

Dr Jeffrey Tobias the founder and Managing Director of The Strategy group, a company focussed on delivering strategic value in the areas of innovation, collaboration and globalization, underpinned by technology.

Jeffrey Tobias’ career in the application of information technology has spanned the worlds of academia, big and small business, government and research. In each environment his leadership, clarity of thought, creativity and drive have generated cutting edge advances and successes far beyond expectation. His broad and deep experience and extraordinarily wide skill set are almost certainly unique within the region.

Dr Tobias is an accomplished strategist, with years of commercial and business experience. He is a respected team leader and manager, with a history of motivating and leading teams in many and varied disciplines. One of his many strengths is his ability to communicate with people at all levels.

During his career, Dr Tobias has incubated and grown a medium size business to $100m in revenue, participated in public service policy formulation, led the Smart Internet Technology CRC as CEO, both sought venture funding and managed funds, built vertical markets in the healthcare and retail spaces, and used his entrepreneurial skills to start, grow and successfully sell a number of commercial operations.

His most recent role was leading the global Innovations Practice for IBSG, Cisco Inc’s executive consulting arm.  This practice worked with some of Cisco’s strategic global customers to assist them in accelerating their innovation capability worldwide.

Dr Tobias is adjunct faculty with the Australian Graduate School of Management at the University of New South Wales, as well as with the School of Business and Economics at the University of Sydney.

The Strategy Group has worked with numerous clients in the private and public sectors, including Cisco, PepsiCo, the Australian Government, the ACT Government, Kraft, Unilever, the New Zealand Government, Telstra, Amadeus, and The Frame Group.

Bjarne Hastrup - Respondent

Mr. Hastrup joined DaneAge Association in 1984 as CEO and is one of the founders of DaneAge.  Under his leadership, membership in the organization has grown to 560,000 out of a total eligible population of 5 million people.

Prior to his leadership role at DaneAge Association, Mr. Hastrup served as a Director of the Danish Federation of Small and Medium Size Enterprises for almost 10 years, where he oversaw business policies, business economics, and organizational development.

Mr. Hastrup also founded Denmark’s Ældreboligselskab, Dansk Seniorbyg a.s. and Senior Rejser A/S.  Mr. Hastrup serves and has served on the Board of Directors of numerous financial and aging organizations such as Sparekassen SDS, Unibank, Akademisk Forlag, International Federation of Aging, and many others. Currently he is Chairman of the Board of Directors at Sct. Micheles Venner.

Mr. Hastrup is member of the AARP Global Network board of managers, where he serves as secretary.  Mr. Hastrup is an accomplished author of numerous books and articles on a variety of subjects ranging from economic history to social welfare in Denmark and other parts of the world. Currently he is writing a book about EU and social politics. Since 2005 Mr Hastrup has been external professor in Social Policy at the Copenhagen University.

Tom Bentley – Respondent

Tom Bentley is Deputy Chief of Staff and Policy Director in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Julia Gillard MP who is also Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations, Minister for Education and Minister for Social Inclusion.

Prior to his position in the office of Deputy Prime Minister, Tom was Executive Director of Policy and Cabinet in the Victorian Government.

Tom has also led Demos - described by The Economist as ‘Britain’s most influential think tank’. He has played a leading role in the formation of policy ideas and analysis of government reform over the last decade. Over the period of Tom’s leadership Demos trebled in size, launching building projects and partnerships in 12 countries.

Before that he was a special adviser to David Blunkett MP, then Secretary of State for Education and Employment, where he worked on issues including school curriculum reform, social inclusion, creativity, curriculum reform, citizenship, adult skills and area-based regeneration. He is an expert in bridging policy, innovation and practice in fields from public services to global security, science policy and social innovation with a large of partners ranging from northern Europe to China and India.

Tom has established an international profile as an independent source of ideas and innovation across a range of subjects. His publications include:

• Learning beyond the classroom: education for a changing world, (Routledge, 1998)
• The Creative Age: knowledge and skills for a new economy (Demos, 1999)
• The Adaptive State: strategies for personalising the public realm (Demos 2003)
• Letting go: complexity, individualism and the left (Renewal, 2002)
• Everyday Democracy: why we get the politicians we deserve (Demos, 2005).
• 21st century citizenship, in Remaking Social Democracy (Polity, 2004).

He has been a regular contributor to the Guardian, the Financial Times and The New Statesman. Tom has a Bachelor of Arts in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, University of Oxford (1994).

Janet Wood – Chair

Janet Wood is president of Council on the Ageing Victoria, the organization hosting the IFA conference.  She has served as chairperson of the Ministerial Advisory Council of Senior Victorians, and as chairperson of Uniting Aged Care, one of the largest providers of residential and community aged care in Victoria and Tasmania.  She has represented the interests of older persons on a range of government committees concerned with such matters as mature age employment, the care of older persons in hospitals, consumer participation, housing and human rights.  

Dalmer Hoskins – Key Input Presentation

In September 2007, Dalmer Hoskins was appointed as special advisor to the US Social Security Administration (SSA), where his current duties include heading a team of researchers and analysts charged with developing a research and policy agenda for 2020 and beyond.

Prior to joining the Social Security Administration, Dalmer Hoskins was employed from 2005 to 2007 by AARP, the largest non-governmental organization in the United States, first as Managing Director of the AARP Public Policy Institute and later as Senior Policy Advisor.  During his tenure at AARP he spearheaded research and policy efforts relating in particular to reform of the Social Security program, encouraging older workers to remain or re-enter the labor force and how to better protect frail older persons during natural disasters. 

From 1990 to 2005, Dalmer Hoskins held the position of Secretary General of the International Social Security Association (ISSA), an international organisation associated with the UN’s International Labor Office, headquartered in Geneva Switzerland.  The position of Secretary General is an elected position, with elections held at three year-intervals.  Dalmer Hoskins was the first American and only non-European to be elected to date by the member states to this post.  The ISSA membership is comprised of over 400 national institutions administering pensions, health insurance, unemployment insurance and workmen’s compensation in nearly 150 member states around the world.  Before being elected to the post of Secretary General, Dalmer Hoskins had previously served as ISSA’s Director of Research (1980-1983) and Director of Regional Activities (1975-1980).

In addition to his international career, Dalmer Hoskins occupied a series of posts in the US Government, including Special Policy Advisor to the Commissioner of Social Security (1987-1990) and Legislative Liaison in the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (1985-1987) and Head of Comparative Studies, SSA (1983-1985).

Dalmer Hoskins received his principal degrees from universities in the United States, notably from the University of Michigan where he did both master’s and doctoral studies in political science (1963-1971) as well as an undergraduate degree from Earlham College (1963).  He also studied at the University of Tokyo (1965 and 1968) and the Sorbonne in Paris (1962).  Dalmer Hoskins is fluent in French and German.

He has served as a board member and advisor for the International Council of Social Welfare, Rehabilitation International, the UN International Institute on Aging, and the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Social and Labour Law.  He is presently Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee of HelpAge International, the largest non-governmental organization providing assistance to vulnerable older persons in developing countries and member of the Advisory Board of the World Demographic and Ageing Association.  Dalmer Hoskins is internationally known as an expert on aging and income security issues, with direct experience advising governments in countries as diverse as China and Chile.  He is frequently asked to appear on panels and at conferences to compare foreign social security experiences with prospects for reform in the United States.

Debra Whitman – Respondent

Debra Bailey Whitman serves as the Staff Director for the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging where she works to advance Chairman Herb Kohl’s agenda to improve the US nursing homes, lower the cost of health care, and increase retirement security for all Americans.  During the 2008 presidential election, she served as a policy advisor and surrogate speaker on health and long-term care for the Obama for America campaign. 

Previously, Debra Bailey Whitman worked for the Congressional Research Service as a specialist in the economics of aging. In this capacity, she provided members of Congress and their staff with research and advice and authored analytical reports describing the economic impacts of current policies affecting older Americans, as well as the distributional and intergenerational effects of legislative proposals.

From 2001 to 2003, Debra Whitman served as a Brookings LEGIS Fellow to the Senate Health, Education, Labour and Pensions Committee, working as a health policy adviser to Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Earlier in her career, Debra conducted research on savings and retirement for the Social Security Administration, helping to establish the Retirement Research Consortium and serving as the founding editor of the Perspectives section of the Social Security Bulletin. She holds a Masters and Doctorate in Economics from Syracuse University and a Bachelors Degree in Economics, Math and Italian from Gonzaga University.

Hal Kendig – Respondent

Professor Kendig serves as Research Professor of Ageing and Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Sydney.  He heads the Ageing, Work, and Health Research Unit and is National Convenor of the ARC/NHMRC Research Network in Ageing Well. He previously was Dean of the Faculty and Director of the ARC Key Centre in Gerontology at La Trobe University.

He co-chairs the Social Research and Planning Committee for the International Association of Gerontology (Asia Oceania) and served on the writing committee for the UN Research Agenda for an Ageing Society.  He is an Honorary Life Fellow of the Australian Council on the Ageing and National Seniors. He participated in the Australia 2020 Summit and he was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal in 2003. 

Professor Kendig has published more than 180 books, reports, and articles in the areas of ageing and community care, housing, health and health promotion, social relationships, international ageing, and social and health policy.  His current research includes Ageing Babyboomers in Australia (ABBA), the Melbourne Longitudinal Surveys on Healthy Ageing (MELSHA), and Socioeconomic Determinants of Health over the Life Course.

Yitzhak Brick –Chair and Moderator

Prof. Yitzhak Brick has been Director General of JDC-ESHEL, the Association for the Planning and Development of Services for the Aged in Israel since 1988. JDC-ESHEL was formed by JDC and the government of Israel three decades ago to respond to the critical challenge faced by the nation in meeting the needs of its older citizens. Prof. Brick also serves as President of the Israel Council on Social Welfare and as chairman of the Council of Social Work.

Prof. Brick came to JDC-ESHEL following a decade as Deputy Director-General of Israel’s Ministry of Labor & Social Affairs - a position in which he was responsible for all of the Ministry’s social welfare functions and determining policy for the country’s social services on a national level. Always active in public organizations, (he is a former coordinator of Jerusalem’s Scout Movement, a former Director of Youth Activities for the Jerusalem Municipality and a former Director of the Elizur Sports Organization), Prof. Brick serves on a large number of national and international boards and committees concerned with social planning and care of the aged.

Born in Jerusalem, Prof. Brick lectures at Haifa University on Social Policy for the Elderly, and has also lectured on Social Service Management at the Bar Ilan and Hebrew Universities. He studied Sociology and Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and has a Doctorate in Social Policy, Planning and Administration from Brandeis University.

Professor Brick was a board member of IFA, the International Federation on Aging from 1995 to 1999 and its President from 2000-2006.  He is also a board member of the International Association of Homes & Services for the Ageing (IAHSA) since 1996.

Joel Sadavoy – Daniel Thursz Memorial Lecture

Dr. Joel Sadavoy is the inaugural Director of The Cyril & Dorothy, Joel & Jill Reitman Centre for Alzheimer's Support and Training, Head of Geriatric and Community Psychiatry at Mount Sinai Hospital and inaugural holder of the Sam and Judy Pencer Chair in Applied General Psychiatry. At the University of Toronto he is a Professor of Psychiatry and faculty in the School of graduate studies. From 1980-1991 he was the Psychiatrist-in-Chief of the Department of Psychiatry at Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care.

From 1991-1993 he headed the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry of the University of Toronto during which time he was elected the founding President of the Canadian Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry which represents specialty geriatric psychiatry in Canada and initiated the process of applying for specialty status for geriatric psychiatry in Canada. From 1993 to 2005 he was Psychiatrist-in-Chief at Mount Sinai Hospital during which time he also served as head of the division of general psychiatry of the University of Toronto and director of the joint program in General psychiatry of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and Mount Sinai hospital. He is Past President of the International Psychogeriatric Association (IPA), representing academic and clinical leaders in geriatric psychiatry from over 70 countries. Academic foci about which Dr. Sadavoy has written include applied research in service delivery and barriers to access to mental healthcare for ethnoracial seniors and personality and development in aging.

He is a recipient of the International Psychogeriatric Association (IPA) field award for contributions to geriatric psychiatry in 1999, the "Outstanding Contribution to Geriatric Psychiatry" National Award of the Canadian Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry in 2006 and the IPA award for distinguished service in 2009. Over the past 5 years he has published three books in geriatric psychiatry including being the lead editor on the third edition of one of the standard textbooks in the field, "Comprehensive Textbook of Geriatric Psychiatry". His textbook on Psychopharmacology for the Elderly is now being translated into Chinese for publication in 2010.

Christine Fang - Respondent

Ms Christine Fang is the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS), an umbrella organization of over 370 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that are providing 90% of the social welfare services in Hong Kong. 

Ms Fang started her social work career as a community worker working with marginalized communities and then became a lecturer in social work in the Hong Kong Polytechnic School of Applied Social Studies.  Prior to joining HKCSS, she was the Secretary General of Hong Kong Red Cross, accumulating rich experience in both local and international welfare sectors. 

Ms Fang also contributes towards the development and promotion of social welfare by means of participating in various government and NGO’s committees.  In addition to her involvement in social welfare, Ms Fang sits in various important government policy committees, including Executive Committee of the Commission on Strategic Development, Charities Sub-Committee of the HK Law Reform Commission, Sustainable Development Council, Digital 21 Strategy Advisory Committee, Independent Police Complaints Council and Lump Sum Grant Steering Committee.  Ms. Fang also helps in the work of other NGOs, including Hong Kong Press Council, Social Work Advisory Committee of the Hong Kong Baptist University, Advisory Committee of Department of Social Work of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Centre for Civil Society and Governance of University of Hong Kong as well as the Hon. Advisor of China Association of Social Workers.

Ms Fang holds a Bachelor of Social Science Honours degree in Social Work from the University of Hong Kong, a Master degree in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago, USA.

David Ames - Respondent

David Ames, BA, MD, FRCPsych, FRANZCP graduated MB BS from the University of Melbourne in 1978.  His training in psychiatry took place at Royal Melbourne Hospital 1982-4, Friern and the Royal Free Hospitals London UK 1984-5, before his appointment to a position as research fellow and honorary lecturer at the Royal Free Hospital 1985-7, where he completed his doctoral thesis on depression in residential homes for the elderly. 

David Ames was Senior Lecturer (1989-95) and then Associate Professor (1995-2005) in the Psychiatry of Old Age for the University of Melbourne at Royal Park, Royal Melbourne, Mount Royal/Northwest and Broadmeadows hospitals.  He co-founded Melbourne’s first Memory clinic (1988), which served as a model for the statewide CADMS clinics, introduced in 1998.  From April 2005 David Ames was University of Melbourne Foundation Professor of Psychiatry of Old Age at St. George’s Hospital Kew. 

Since September 3 2007 he has been Director of the National Ageing Research Institute and University of Melbourne Foundation Professor of Ageing & Health.  His main research interests are pre-symptomatic diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, new drug treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and the care of the depressed elderly.  He is Chief Investigator on the $3 million 3 year Alzheimer study funded by CSIRO (Australian Imaging Biomarkers & Lifestyle Study) 2006-9.  David Ames has published over 120 papers in peer reviewed journals and has edited over 15 books.  He edited IPA Bulletin, the quarterly newsletter of IPA from 1996-2002, he is a member of the Medical & Scientific Advisory Panel of Alzheimer’s Disease International and has been Editor of the peer reviewed Journal International Psychogeriatrics since January 2003 (IF 2.207 2007). 

Amy D’Aprix – Respondent

Amy D’Aprix, is an internationally renowned expert on lifestyle issues related to aging. In Canada, she works with a number of organizations and consults to BMO Financial Group as a Retirement Transition Expert. In her work with BMO, she helps clients and advisors focus on the issues that can have a profound personal and financial impact on retirement such as personal relationships, caregiving, health, etc.

“Dr. Amy”, as she is affectionately known, uses her gerontological social work background to give practical advice and get people thinking about retirement in a different way. Dr. Amy facilitates BMO’s Take Charge of Your Retirement workshops across Canada.

In May 2010, Dr. Amy will be participating on a panel discussion with the World Health Organization in Melbourne, Australia at the International Federation on Ageing conference.  She sits on the Business Development Group of the International Federation on Ageing and is on the Medical Advisory Board for Humana Active Outlook, a Division of Humana, Inc.

She has recently authored a book: From Surviving to Thriving: Transforming Your Caregiving Journey, and co-recorded a CD with an accompanying workbook: Building the Bonds of Friendship in Midlife and Beyond. 

Dr. Amy has an extensive background working with seniors and their caregiving families as well as teaching others about the needs of seniors and their families.  

Dr. Amy holds a Ph.D and the designation of Certified Senior Advisor (CSA).

In addition to her academic and professional background, for a decade she was a caregiver for her elderly parents. Dr. Amy is on the International Faculty for the Society of Certified Senior Advisors and the Canadian Academy of Senior Advisors. With these organizations she teaches throughout North America. 

Gordon Lishman – Moderator

Gordon Lishman retired in April 2009 as Director General of Age Concern and Chief Executive of the Age Concern England (ACE) Group, when ACE merged with Help the Aged.  The Group comprised the charity, Age Concern England; its trading companies, primarily Age Concern Enterprises and Aid-Call; and the membership organisation, Heyday. The ACE Group is the UK’s largest charitable operation. Gordon worked for ACE beginning in 1974.

Age Concern England worked closely with 350 other Age Concerns around the UK, ensuring that national policy and influencing work is informed by their experiences of working with and delivering local services to older people.

Gordon led the charity’s campaigning, and has achieved major successes on pension reform, particularly for older women, and on age discrimination including the setting up of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.  He chairs the Department of Health’s Nutrition Action Plan Delivery Board.

Gordon has a keen interest in international work and was the first Secretary of AGE, the European Older People’s Platform. He is currently the International Vice-President of the International Federation on Ageing.  Following retirement, Gordon has returned to political interests.  He is Chair of the Human Rights Committee of the Liberal International (LI)and a member of the LI’s Bureau and Executive Committee.  He is also a member of the Council of the European Liberal, Democrat and Reform Party and an elected member of the Federal Executive of the Liberal Democrats in the UK. 

Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick - Key Input Presentation

Elizabeth Broderick is a lawyer, mentor and social change agent, a Telstra NSW Business Woman of the Year and Australian Corporate Business Woman of the Year.

Prior to her appointment as Sex Discrimination Commissioner and Commissioner responsible for Age Discrimination, Elizabeth was a partner at Blake Dawson and developed the firm’s business case for flexibility in the workplace.  Her efforts contributed to creating a workplace where more than 25 percent of the law firm’s workforce now uses flexible work arrangements. 

Elizabeth has travelled the length and breadth of Australia listening to women and men’s concerns about gender equality and age discrimination.  She has been a strong advocate for Australia’s national paid parental leave scheme, age discrimination and more recently has championed the changes to the ASX Corporate Governance Principles to increase the number of women at decision making level.

In 2009, she accompanied a group of aboriginal women to the Commission on the Status of Women in the United Nations to tell their story of rebuilding their community following years of alcohol abuse.  This enabled community women’s voices to be heard on a global stage and their promising practices to be shared around the world.  

Elizabeth is an adviser to the Australian Chief of the Defence Force on women’s issues, a member of the UTS Advisory Board, the Vic Health Advisory Board and the ANU Centre for International and Public Law.  

Elizabeth is married and has two young children Tom and Lucy.

Alexandre Kalache - Respondent

Since his leaving his post as Director of the World Health Organization, Department of Ageing and Life Course (WHO-ALC). In 2008 Alex Kalache has been acting on different fronts. He was then appointed Senior Policy Advisor to the President on Global Ageing at the New York Academy of Medicine and, concomitantly, acting as a consultant to the municipal and state governments in Rio de Janeiro and the federal government in Brasilia. He also serves as HelpAge International Global Ambassador on Ageing. This combination of duties imply the establishment and the enhancement of international links, co-direct specific projects adopting age-friendly approaches, fostering public-private initiatives on ageing and highlighting the importance of intersectoral action for the full implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing.

Over recent years Dr Kalache has been in the forefront of the process of strengthening Human Rights of older people at international level, most importantly toward the adoption of a UN Convention of Rights of Older People.

From 1994 to the end of his tenure in 2007, Dr Kalache headed the WHO-ALC, advancing the state of knowledge about health care in older age and Gerontology through dissemination of information, training and research efforts reflecting the WHO Active Ageing Policy Framework he launched in 2002 in collaboration with his colleagues at WHO and hundreds more from academic, civil society and government agencies throughout the world. Under his leadership WHO launched in 2007 the Global Movement on Age Friendly Cities.

Previous, Dr Kalache served as founder and head of the Epidemiology of Ageing Unit at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine where he also set up the first European Master's Degree Course on Health Promotion. From 1978-1984 Dr Kalache was a clinical lecturer at the Department of Community Health, Oxford University. 

Dr Kalache was born and brought up in Brazil; he obtained his medical degree from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, his Master's degree in Social Medicine from the University of London and his PhD degree in Epidemiology from the University of Oxford. He holds several honorary positions from various universities around the world and is a board member of several professional international associations in Gerontology, Public Health and Geriatric Medicine.

Martin Stewart-Weeks – Respondent

Martin Stewart-Weeks has over 20 years’ experience in organisational management and consulting in the corporate and public sectors and with a wide range of not-for-profit organisations.

Born in Sarawak, East Malaysia and educated in Sarawak, the UK and Australia, Martin has lived in Australia since 1978 after completing his school and undergraduate education in England.

A consistent theme of his professional experience has been public policy and management. He has held senior policy, management and advisory positions for Ministers and government agencies at the federal and state government level in Australia.  In the early 1980s, he held the position of Senior Private Secretary to a Federal Minister and between 1990 and 1996 was a consultant in the Office of Strategic Planning in The Cabinet Office in New South Wales.

In his consulting work over the past 18 years, Martin has specialised in strategy, policy analysis, facilitation and market and social research.  In his work with the Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) at Cisco, Martin’s focus is primarily on the public sector. In January 2007, Martin took up a position as Director for IBSG’s public sector practice in Asia-Pacific, leading a small team of senior consultants working on transformation projects in government, education and urbanisation in India, China, South-East Asia and Australia and New Zealand.

He has been a key member of the global team developing Cisco’s thinking on eGovernment (‘the connected republic’) and government 2.0.  He was a member of the Ministerial Task Force on Government 2.0 which reported to Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner and Special Minister of State Joe Ludwig in December 2009.

Martin holds a BA (Hons) in English from the University of York, a Graduate Diploma in Applied Economics from Canberra University and a Masters in Social Science and Policy from the University of New South Wales.

Kathy Greenlee - Respondent

Kathy Greenlee was appointed by President Barack Obama as the fourth Assistant Secretary for Aging at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and confirmed by the Senate in June 2009. Ms. Greenlee brings over 10 years of experience advancing the health and independence of older persons and their families.

Prior to becoming Assistant Secretary, Ms. Greenlee served as Secretary of Aging for the state of Kansas. In that capacity, she led a cabinet-level agency with 192 full-time staff members and a total budget of $495 million. Her department oversaw the state's Older Americans Act programs, the distribution of Medicaid long-term care payments and regulation of nursing home licensure and survey processes. She also served on the board of the National Association of State Units on Aging.

Before her tenure as the Secretary of Aging, Ms. Greenlee served as State Long-Term Care Ombudsman in Kansas, and the state's Assistant Secretary of Aging. Ms. Greenlee also served as general counsel at the Kansas Insurance Department. During her tenure there, she led the team of regulators who evaluated the proposed sale of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Kansas, and oversaw the Senior Health Insurance Counseling for Kansas program. Greenlee also served as Chief of Staff and Chief of Operations for then Governor Kathleen Sebelius.
Ms. Greenlee is a graduate of the University of Kansas with degrees in business administration and law.

Ann Pawliczko - Chair

Ann Pawliczko holds a Ph.D. in demography and urban sociology from Fordham University. She joined the United Nations in 1992 after serving as assistant professor of sociology at Fordham and conducting research at The Population Council.

At the UN Population Division, Dr. Pawliczko worked in the population policy area and contributed to such publications as International Migration Policies, World Population Policies, The Challenge of Urbanization: The World's Large Cities, and Monitoring of Population Trends and Policies. 

Since 1996, she has been with the United Nations Population Fund serving as senior technical adviser to UNFPA's project on data collection of resource flows for population activities.  She prepares the annual Financial Resource Flows for Population Activities and the reports of the Secretary-General to the Commission on Population and Development on international assistance and domestic funding for population activities.  She serves as focal point for emerging population issues including ageing, migration and urbanization.  She actively participated in the preparatory activities for the Second World Assembly on Ageing and the post-Madrid regional implementation meetings. 

Dr. Pawliczko prepares articles, reports, press releases and speeches on population and development issues, briefs representatives from donor countries and UN agencies on the work of UNFPA in the population and development area to secure funding and increase collaboration, evaluates proposals for funding, and reviews country programmes.

Alexandre Sidorenko – Moderator

Born in St. Petersburg, Russia on 31 August 1949. Early education in Ukraine. Graduate studies in medicine.  PhD in cellular immunology. Lecturer at the Kiev Medical University (1975-1978).  Ten years experience in experimental gerontology at the Kiev Institute of Gerontology (1978-1988).

Dr Sidorenko has worked at the United Nations Secretariat since 1988, first in Vienna, Austria, and since 1993 through August 2009 – in New York, USA.

Major United Nations assignments:

• Head, UN Programme on Ageing, UN Focal Point on Ageing (2002 – August 2009)
• Chief of the United Nations Programme on Ageing (1993-2002)
• Coordinator of the International Year of Older Persons (1999)

Principal responsibilities included the coordination of the UN system activities in the area of ageing, including promotion and monitoring of international policy and programmes on ageing.

In 2000-2002, coordinated the substantive preparations of the Second World Assembly on Ageing in Madrid, including drafting the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing.  After the Second World Assembly, principal activities focused on the implementation of the Madrid Plan of Action.  Specific areas of professional involvement were monitoring of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, development of evidence based policy on ageing, and provision of advisory services to governments on policies on ageing.

Current position: Senior Advisor, European centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, Vienna, Austria

Vladyslav Bezrukov

Mr Vladyslav Viktorovych Bezrukov was born 25.02.1940, a Corresponding Member of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, elected on 08.04.1997 in the speciality of gerontology, Doctor of Medical Science (1983), professor (1998), Honored Scientist of Ukraine (1998), the N.D. Strazhesko Prize Laureate of NAS Ukraine (2000) and the T.I. Yeroshevsky Prize Laureate (Russia, 2001), State Prize awardee in Science and Technology (2003 р.), director of the Institute of Gerontology AMS Ukraine since 1988, head of the Social Gerontology Laboratory (1989 – 2004), head of the Physiology Laboratory of above institute since 1999. 

He is a well-known scientist in the fields:

• of social gerontology (study of longevity phenomenon, accelerated aging of the population in Ukraine, socio-hygienic factors of a risk of the development of age-dependent diseases, evaluation of health status and needs in various kinds of medico-social care for elderly people, long-term care for elderly); and

• in the field of physiology of aging. His main research interests include: physiology of aging (study of changes in the neurohumoral blood flow regulation, systems of antioxidant defense and nitrogen oxide,   endothelium dysfunction, hypothalamic mechanisms of organism’s aging, age-related specifics of the hypothalamic regulation of vegetative and endocrine functions, role of hypothalamic disturbances in age-dependent pathology onset, hypothalamic influences of life expectances). 

Prof. V.V. Bezrukov is the author of nearly 500 scientific works, including 19 monographs and handbooks, 3 author’s certificates. He has prepared 4 doctors and 10 candidates of science.

He is president of the Ukrainian Gerontology and Geriatrics Society, a member of Directive boards of the International   and   European gerontology associations, a Honorary member of the national gerontological societies of Russia and Romania. He serves as Chairperson of the specialized council in the Institute of Gerontology AMS Ukraine. V.V. Bezrukov serves as a WHO adviser, a Chairperson of the commission of the state Pharmacological center of HM Ukraine, a member of the Red Cross Society board in Ukraine, an editor-in-chief of the journal “Problems of ageing and longevity” and  a member of the editorial boards of several national and  foreign journals.  

His main scientific works: "Aging of the Central Nervous System" (1979); “Blood Circulation and Aging” (1984); “Services for the elderly in former USSR (1994); "The Aging Cardiovascular System: Physiology and Pathology" (1996); “Health of the elderly in Ukraine (2002); “Geriatric care for elderly in Ukraine: state of art and concept of developing (2004); “Fundamental mechanisms of nitrogen oxide action on the cardiovascular system as the basis for pathogenetic treatment of its diseases” (2004); “Pharmaco-epidemiological investigations in geriatrics” (2004); “Longevidad centenaria en Europa.Geriatria y Gerontologia”(2005).

Jaco Hoffman – Speaker

Jaco joined the Oxford Institute of Ageing, University of Oxford as a James Martin Research Fellow in October 2006, developing the Institute's focus on ageing in Africa through the conduct of research and co-ordination of the African Research on Ageing Network (AFRAN).
His research interests revolve around intergenerational issues in Africa in general, and in particular the configuration and reconfiguration of these relationships in the context of poverty and HIV/AIDS.

The African Research on Ageing Network (AFRAN) is a United Nations endorsed programme, hosted by the Oxford Institute of Ageing. This collaborative network brings together African and international institutions and individuals from academia, policy and practice to develop and expand African research and training capacity on ageing.

Among others, Jaco’s further professional responsibilities include being:

• Editorial Board Member of the International Journal of Intergenerational Relationships: programs, policy, and research (Taylor & Francis); Journal of Population Ageing (Springer).
• An associate fellow of the International Longevity Centre (ILC) Africa, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
• Member of the Scientific Programme Committee: International Federation on Ageing - 10th IFA Global Conference, Melbourne, Australia – “Climate for Change: Ageing into the Future.”
• Board Member: International Sociological Association RC11 “Sociology of Aging”.
• President of the South African Gerontological Association (SAGA).

Nabil Kronfol - Speaker

Dr Nabil Kronfol is a Professor of Health Policy and Management and co-founder of the recently established “Center for Studies on Ageing” in Lebanon and the MENA Region. He is also the President of the Lebanese HealthCare Management Association, a not-for-profit professional association that focuses on the further development of policies and health systems in Lebanon and the Region.

Born in 1944, in Beirut, Lebanon, Dr Kronfol received the medical degree with the Penrose Award from the American University of Beirut (AUB) in 1969. Following residency training at AUB and at the Harvard’ Children’s Hospital in Boston, United States,  Dr Kronfol became a diplomate of the American Board of Pediatrics in 1972. Dr Kronfol then joined the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and was graduated with a Doctorate in Public Health in Health Services Administration.

Dr Kronfol joined the American University of Beirut in 1974 and moved through the academic ladder to become full Professor, Chairman of the Department of Health Services Administration (now Health Policy and Management), Assistant Dean for Allied Health and finally Deputy Vice President for External Programs in Health.

While on the professional tenure, Dr Kronfol established the College of Health Sciences in the Kingdom of Bahrain, four schools of nursing in the United Arab Emirates and the Planning Unit at Lebanon’s Ministry of Health. He also played a key role in the establishment of several faculties of Medicine and Public Health in the MENA Region.

Dr Kronfol received the International McGaw Award in 1984, the Fullbright International scholar Award in 1985 and the Shusha Award from the World Health Organization (2007). He is a member and past president of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor medical society and the Sigma Phi science society.

Dr Kronfol served as chief advisor to Lebanon’s Ministers of Health (since 1980), to the Minister of Health of the United Arab Emirates (1992-1995), and continues to be a frequent consultant to the World Health Organization, the World Bank, UNICEF, UNDP, ESCWA – in health systems design, human resource development, quality assurance and the health of the older populations. Dr Kronfol was also one of the founders of the Arab Board for Medical Specializations. He served for ten years as a member of the Board and the Chairman of the Program Committee of the Board of the Aga Khan University.

Dr Kronfol has an extensive list of publications and books.

Dharmapriya Wesumperuma

Dharmapriya Wesumperuma (PhD London) is the Regional Head of Programmes, East Asia/Pacific, HelpAge International. Previously he was the Director of the Asia Training Centre on Ageing (ATCOA) of HelpAge International from 1997 to 2002.

A former university academic (1965–1977) from Sri Lanka, he was the Executive Director of the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (1978-1995) in Colombo before joining HelpAge.

Claudia Josefina Arias

I was born in Mercedes, a small city near to Buenos Aires. I have studied secondary school at Manuel Belgrano National School until 1985. I began at university in 1986 specializing in Psychology. I followed a post-graduate career in Social Psychology. I’m married to an architect. His name is Dario and we have two young children.  At the moment I’m working at Mar del Plata National University as a professor. I’m also head of a research project into positive aspects of ageing and an academia co-ordinator of a post-graduate career in community and institutional Gerontology. This post-graduate career is being managed dually between the University and the national government. I have being carrying forward various investigations into different aspects regarding Gerontology since 1994. I have done coordination and teaching activities in the National Programs of “Home carers”, Elderly volunteers” and in the “Formation Course of Professional and tactical groups of elderly peoples´ homes”. All of them depend on the National Direction of Social Policies for elderly people of the National Social Development Ministry. I’m also a consultant for CELADE/CEPAL which depend on United Nations. I have had a vast number of books and scientific articles published on a national and international scale.

Joseph Troisi

Professor Joseph Troisi, Ph.D. (Soc.), M.A. (Soc.), M.Phil., M.Th., B.A. (Hons) is the Director of the International Institute on Ageing, United Nations-Malta, and the Director of the European Centre  of Gerontology, University of Malta.  He also directs the WHO Collaborating Centre on Health Ageing, Malta.  He is a Member of the UNECE Working Group on Ageing to monitor, within the UNECE region, the implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing 2002.

He is a member of the European Consortium responsible for the European Masters in Gerontology. For a number of years he has served as a member of the Committee of Experts on Varieties of Welfare Provision and Dependent Old People, Directorate of Social and Economic Affairs, Council of Europe.  He has also served on a number of UN panels and actively participated in various international expert group meetings and workshops in the field of ageing.

On Wednesday 4th June, 2008, Professor Troisi was awarded the degree of Honorary Doctor in Gerontology by the Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. The award was made “for many years of educational activity and an outstanding contribution to international developments in gerontology”.

As temporary advisor in the field of ageing with the World Health Organisation, he has served as government consultant in Croatia, India, Kuwait, Tunisia and Yugoslavia. He is also a member of a number of international  Scientific Committees.

He served as consultant to a European Union funded research project entitled “EUROFAMCARE” co-ordinated by the University of Hamburg. He has just completed a report on the State of the Welfare State in the Maltese Islands. This report was commissioned by the Higher Institute for Labour Studies (HIVA) of the Catholic University of Leuven. He also serves on the Council of the Sociology of Population Research Committee of the International Sociological Association.

Professor Troisi has conducted training programmes in various aspects of Gerontology throughout the world and has lectured in a number of universities in China, Croatia, Egypt, Ghana, India, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Panama, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Turkey.  He has conducted extensive research in various areas of Sociology and Social Gerontology and is the author of a number of books and articles in scholarly journals.

Kate Autry – Respondent

Born in Brisbane, Kate Auty is a graduate of the University of Melbourne (Arts (Hons)/Law), Monash University (Masters in Environmental Science), and La Trobe University (PhD in Law and Legal Studies). She also holds a Diploma of International Environmental Law from UNITAR.

She has worked as a lawyer for the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service and the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia); as lecturer and project coordinator in the Graduate Certificate in Environment and Heritage Interpretation at the Institute of Koori Education, Deakin University; as a barrister (Victoria), established the first Victorian Koori Court and acted as inaugural magistrate; and as a magistrate in Western Australia in the western desert goldfields region.

She has undertaken a number of consultancies including a project on local government and climate change for the National Environmental Law Association and in 2008 Dr Auty was appointed a Charles Joseph LaTrobe Fellow with the Centre for Sustainable Regional Communities, La Trobe University. The fellowship involved a three year research project consulting with Aboriginal women about justice issues including heritage and environmental concerns. In 2008 and 2009 she was the Chair of the Ministerial Reference Council on Climate Change Adaptation and also a member of the Premier's Reference Committee on Climate Change.

Victorian Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, the Hon Gavin Jennings announced the appointment of Dr Kate Auty as the new Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability effective from the 19th June 2009.