U3A Mandurah

U3A LINKS

U3A NETWORK WA   www.u3anetworkwa.org.au
Information on Western Australian U3As.

U3A AUSTRALIA Online   www.u3aonline.org.au
List of courses available for independent study using the internet. Based at Griffith University in Brisbane.

U3A (UWA) Inc.  www.u3auwa.org
Information on U3A activities available in the Perth Metropolitan Area. Based at the University of WA in Perth.

National Seniors (Australia)   https://nationalseniors.com.au/
A comprehensive and informative website for Australian Seniors.

Mandurah Visitor Centre   www.visitmandurah.com/

HISTORY OF U3A WORLDWIDE

The first University of the Third Age was founded in Toulouse, France, in 1972, to improve the quality of life for older people by bringing them into contact with academic programmes run by a university. The idea spread rapidly in France.

The success of the French experiment led to the rapid spread of U3As to many countries – particularly in Europe. An International Association of U3As was established by 1975. It has gained recognition from such bodies as the UN and UNESCO.

In 1981, the concept was introduced to Britain through a group based at Cambridge University. In contrast to the French practice, the British U3As quickly moved away from the model based on courses provided by a University. The idea of a self-help or mutual aid organisation was adopted. This self-help approach reduces the need for dependence on outside resources and, in a way, goes back to the original concept of a community of scholars – the medieval origin of a university. Hence the broad acceptance of the term University in the titles of so many of these groups, describing a community in which learning is an end in itself, where individuals learn what they want to, at the pace they prefer and where no qualifications are needed to enter and none are awarded.

U3A Mandurah was formed in 1990.