"Belonging to, Giving to and Receiving from The Community" is the ethos of The Meeting Place – a sentiment reflected in its recent Seniors Week activities on Rottnest Island.
The Meeting Place Community Centre is part of the Adult Community Education Sector. It is a service of The City of Fremantle and was opened in 1976.
“We thought it was a great opportunity to be involved in a different and inspiring week at a wonderful location,” said Acting Co-ordinator, South Fremantle, Samantha Richardson-Newton, of the centre visit to Rottnest island.
The Meeting Place provided a yoga workshop and an organic sculpture-clay workshop, and had a display about the centre and its activities and programs.
“The theme for Seniors Week 2004 was ‘The Best Time in Ages’. This theme represents the best time for learning, the best time for adventure and the best time for getting together,” Ms Richardson-Newton said.
“Rottnest and the program planned fitted the senior's week theme perfectly...a great atmosphere and opportunity for seniors to network and find out what was happening for them.”
The Meeting Place is about community education and support. It is highly utilised with about 500 people accessing the centre each week.
It provides a range of services and resources for the local Fremantle community including community education, community support and working with community: innovative and creative projects are developed involving community for the enrichment of the community.
The centre encourages and welcomes all community members to attend and participate in its programs and activities.
Short, inexpensive courses on personal growth, business and career opportunities, media, health & healing, spirituality, relationships and technology are offered. The range of topics is endless. Some examples include life skill courses, parenting/families, political systems, citizenship, English as a second language, and workskills.
As well as The Meeting Place workshops, seniors visiting Rottnest Island were treated to performances by the Sing From the Heart Choir, Corner House Jazz Band, The Four Kens and the Square Dancing Society of WA. A range of activities was also organised for participants including belly dancing, watercolour classes, walks and bush tucker cooking by food journalist and artist Jan Oldman.
