With the COVID-19 pandemic taking a disproportionate toll on elderly people, Allan Tranter believes it is the ideal time to recognise what this generation has contributed to our society.

We should not only be grateful for what they have done, we should honour them, he says.

In the latest instalment of Creating Communities’ Stronger Together series of video conversations, Allan urges us to reach out to the older people around us to help ease their sense of isolation. This is particularly important for those living in aged care facilities who have had visitor access restricted.

This may be through a gesture such as a phone call, sending a card, or something as simple as a friendly acknowledgement when you pass an elderly person in the street.

Allan Tranter is the founding director of Creating Communities. He is a former director of the WA Department of Sport and Recreation, and has led urban renewal projects across metropolitan and regional WA, working on projects that address significant issues in our society, such as ageing, multiculturalism and Aboriginal communities. Allan is chair of Nature Play WA, and has been on the board of companies including the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Western Australian Technology Precinct.

This interview is part of Creating Communities’ series of video conversations with prominent Australians offering insights and wisdom on coping with the challenges this pandemic presents for all of us. It is a key part of our “Stronger Together” approach to the COVID-19 crisis as we work to bring people and communities together to help each other through this testing time.