IRCHAL develops the programmes for the annual International Conferences on Healthy Ageing & Longevity, and is committed to ten years of annual conferences. The Annual Conference Programmes are designed to stimulate discussion, debate, collaboration and the exchange of ideas -- creating fertile ground for forward thinking and decision making as the baby-boom generation inevitably progresses through the age structure.

Each year world-class speakers from across the globe meet at the Annual Conferences to provide leading-edge, evidence-based knowledge on the achievement of increased human longevity and healthy/disability free life expectancy. The Inaugural Conference was held in Sydney in 2004, and the 2nd Conference was held in Brisbane in 2005. The 3rd International Conference on Healthy Ageing and Longevity will held at the Melbourne Exhibition & Convention Centre, October 13th - 15th 2006.

The Annual Conferences provide a not-to-be-missed experience for healthcare practitioners, researchers and policy makers to interact with an unprecedented number of world-leading experts on health, ageing and longevity. Over three days, conference delegates have the unique opportunity to interact with top-level representatives of the World Health Organization, United Nations, US National Institute on Aging/National Institutes of Health, Australian Government and leading research centres, universities and peak bodies from within Australia and across the globe.

The Annual Conferences are holistic in that they explore the full spectrum of proven and potential ageing interventions including pharmaceutical, nutritional, clinical, educative, policy, complementary, preventive and restorative means and the scientific underpinnings supporting them. At the same time the Conferences recognise the diversity of ageing individuals, cultures and methodologies within all communities and across the globe with the object of promoting longer and better lives for all.

Delegates from all over the world attend the Conferences, together with widespread interest from national and international media. The full Conference Proceedings are professionally recorded on DVD and distributed for educational use consistent with IRCHAL’s objective of disseminating evidence-based knowledge on healthy ageing and longevity.

In recognition of the high quality of the conference programme, the 2nd International Conference on Healthy Ageing & Longevity was co-sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO). IRCHAL plans to continue to work with WHO and national and international organisations in the field of health, ageing and longevity on all future annual conferences.

What makes IRCHAL and the Annual Conferences different?

IRCHAL, through the Annual Conferences, is a pioneer in bridging popular beliefs and practices to promote health throughout the lifespan and the latest scientific research on health and ageing, thus connecting the community with the professional field.

Unlike many other conferences, the annual International Conferences on Healthy Ageing and Longevity maintain a very high moral standard in regards to the development of the Conference Programmes. IRCHAL invites speakers based on their credibility and scientific merit, with no influence from any commercial organisations.

The great strength of the Annual Conferences is the diversity of the topics and the unprecedented number of leading international experts who come from all over the world, and from many disciplines. Therefore the Conferences present an opportunity to network in a way that is rarely available, where people from different fields can exchange views, can learn from one another, and with many of the very top people in the world present, it is an extremely valuable experience for all

Dr. Alexandre Sidorenko, Chief of the United Nation’s Focal Point on Ageing and a member of IRCHAL’s International Advisory Council, believes IRCHAL and the Annual Conferences are an ‘important step towards strong bonds of cooperation between researchers and practitioners addressing the issues of healthy ageing and longevity ’.

In developing the Conference Programme, IRCHAL maintains a comprehensive approach that echoes the views of the World Health Organization, which state "Ageing is a privilege and a societal achievement. It is also a challenge, which will impact on all aspects of 21st century society. It is a challenge that cannot be addressed by the public or private sectors in isolation: it requires joint approaches and strategies." Furthermore, that "Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity".

IRCHAL goes further to suggest that individual and population ageing are not just challenges to humanity, but also an opportunity. The annual International Conferences on Healthy Ageing and Longevity are an effort to explore the science of ageing as well as the unique challenges and opportunities offered by the ageing of individuals and populations.

With the dramatic increase of the ageing population, the Annual Conferences are addressing one of the most vital issues of our time. Now, more than ever, there is a critical need for the development of appropriate policies so that ageing is seen as a resource and not as an isolating and segregating experience. There is also a strong need for primary healthcare workers to further develop and benefit from the pooling of knowledge to introduce healthy ageing strategies into clinical practice with a strong emphasis on preventative healthcare and early disease detection.