Frontier Services Regional Manager for NT Sharon Davis will share what inspires her about working in remote Australia in a keynote presentation to the Cultural Diversity in Ageing Conference in Melbourne today.

Ms Davis will speak about the cultural diversity in aged and community care services in the bush, and the joys as well as the challenges that are involved.

“All our aged and community care services in the Northern Territory and the Kimberley are absolutely unique and share both inspirations and challenges,” Ms Davis will say.

Frontier Services, the largest provider of aged and community care in remote Australia, delivers community services and residential care to clients from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Asian, Greek and other cultural backgrounds.

Ms Davis will speak about the challenges involved in communication, with residents and staff coming from many different cultural backgrounds. She will address the importance of providing quality services in a culturally appropriate manner and speak about the ways Frontier Services has led the way in achieving this.

One example of this is Pulkapulkka Kari and Community Care Barkly in Tennant Creek which share opportunities to recognise special community days, including Sorry Day, Reconciliation Week, NAIDOC week and Nanas Day.

Respite for Senior Territorians (ROST), a respite program for carers, also holds Cultural Days for its elderly clients.

The two-day Cultural Diversity in Aging Conference is an opportunity for those within the aged care industry to explore new approaches and as well as meet with others to share ideas and experiences on cultural inclusion in ageing.

Other invited speakers at the conference include Minister for Mental Health and Ageing Mark Butler and Susan Ryan, the Age Discrimination Commissioner, Australian Human Rights Commission.

Ms Davis hopes the stories she shares will increase the empathy with and understanding of people from diverse backgrounds who come from many cultural values and have enriched the lives of many travellers throughout remote Australia.