President’s Message
October 2026
Last month I briefly mentioned the increasingly noticeable effects of climate change; this month I feel that it could be joined by AI as a potential existential threat. Quite early on, AI has behaved in ways which were obviously unintended, such as hallucinating.
Remember that October and November are renewal months (simply pay your subscription, unless you were advised when joining recently that your subscription covered next year), and that our November meeting is also our Annual General Meeting, with a speaker as usual and an end of year function to follow. We also need a new Secretary.
At our monthly meeting on September 21st, the short talk was given by Jo Dick from Liveable, a company offering advice and solutions to enable older people to continue living in their own homes. In response to a questi9n from a U3A member, Jo has since reported that she also found a solution to the question about getting the wheelie bin up the driveway – council offer an assisted collection. Assisted services are available to those with age-related or disability support needs who need assistance to get their household rubbish and recycling to the roadside each week. Please call council on 09 301 0101 to discuss your support needs.
Before Jo’s talk, Judi Higginson briefly introduced her new group, “Art beyond the Frame”. She invited those interested to sign up at morning tea. Such was the interest that Judi reports that her new group is over-subscribed already!
After morning tea, we heard from our main speaker, singer, conductor and organiser, John Rosser, artistic director of the World Choir Games held in Auckland in 2024.
John became one of very few in NZ earning a living as a choral conductor, on the board and later chair of the NZCF, conducting Symphony under the Stars, the Big Sing, the Rugby World Cup anthems project, and was chorus director of NZ Opera for nearly 25 years.
Auckland was selected to host the Symposium in Choral Music in 2020. John was appointed Artistic Director (2016 – 2020) leading the organising committee and was devastated when the Symposium was cancelled in 2020 due to Covid. Getting straight back on the horse, he immediately started working on bringing the World Choir Games to Auckland, which happened in 2024, with John as Artistic Director.
The World Choir Games is the World’s largest choral festival and emphasises participation rather than excellence. In Auckland there were 30 venues, 490 events, and 250 choirs (including 80 from China), involving over 11,000 participants! We have a lot to thank John Rosser for, besides his talk.
Our next meeting will be on Monday 19th October, featuring volcanoes and hearing aids. I look forward to seeing you there.
John Goodman
How We Operate
Monthly Meetings
At our monthly meetings we get together to listen to a speaker of note. These people are chosen from a wide variety of backgrounds – historians, social scientists, representatives of voluntary organisations, scientists from a wide variety of backgrounds, and from many other disciplines. We also have updates from representatives from our interest groups and from time to time hear from other community representatives to give a short update on their activities
Interest Groups
We currently have many interest groups covering a wide variety of activities. Activities include a number of walking groups, reading groups, a memoir writing group, musical interest groups history and wine studies groups and many others. The complete list can be seen on the Interest groups page. From time to time we have new groups formed, and others cease their activity
Newsletter
Our monthly newsletter is our main means of communication with our members. Most of our members received their newsletters by email. We also post newsletters covering the last two years on our website for those interested in our activities. The website is updated monthly to ensure the most recent newsletters are always available.
Interest Groups
are the heart of U3A Meadowbank.
Our Interest Groups are the key to learning in more depth about a wide variety of topics and activities. They are at the heart of what U3A is all about and we strongly encourage all of our members to actively participate in at least one group. We also welcome ideas about new areas of study or activity from our members
We are a part of a Global Network
U3A is a global movement encouraging mature people to keep their minds active and share their knowledge. It began in France in 1972 as a means of enabling older achievers to continue learning and share their knowledge under the banner “University of the Third Age”. The movement spread widely throughout Europe.
In 1981, U3A reached the United Kingdom, which developed a model based on peer-to-peer learning, away from academia. This same approach was adopted in Australia and New Zealand. The first U3A in New Zealand was U3A Remuera, established in 1989. U3A St Heliers followed in 1992. There are now over 80 U3As in New Zealand, including 27 in the Auckland region. Further Information can be found on www.u3a.nz.
We are part of a local Network
Each U3A association is autonomous, organising its own programme, governance and affairs, but adhering to the principles on which U3A was founded. In summary, these are the guidelines that shape our activities and collegiality.
- Learning and teaching are mutually enhancing. We are all learners and teachers and are encouraged to be actively engaged in discovery, discussion, research and exploration of topics of collective interest.
- We are all recognised as having something of value to bring to the Association. We acknowledge the wisdom and depth of experience that members bring and the potential for new learning and new challenges as we age.
- All of our work is voluntary – no one gets paid for their services (except perhaps a koha for outside speakers). Leadership is shared and rotated, so no-one holds on to office beyond an allotted term.
- There are no admission requirements other than paying the annual membership fee. No entry qualifications are required, no award or recognition given of learning undertaken.