Twenty-one years of gerontology education for health care practitioners at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will be celebrated when the Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG) launches its Albury-Wodonga chapter next week.The free event at La Trobe University in Wodonga on Wednesday 11 November will feature presentations from a leading international researcher and showcase local initiatives. Local people interested in ageing are invited to attend.CSU and La Trobe University are partnering the AAG for the launch of the rural chapter and invite new members.AAG is Australia's national body promoting research and education in ageing. It links professionals working across the multidisciplinary fields of ageing and connects them with each other and with members of the community to help them collaborate and exchange information on ageing.Lecturer in gerontology at CSU's School of Humanities and Social Sciences Ms Robin Harvey said, "We invite everybody involved in aged care locally, and those interested in ageing research, to come along, bring their experience and join the conversation about building age-friendly rural communities in the Border region and around the world."Professor Mark Skinner, founding Director of the Trent Centre for Ageing and Society at Trent University in Canada, will deliver the keynote address titled 'Voluntarism and age-friendly rural communities'.Professor Skinner's research focuses on the importance of volunteers in building age-friendly communities. He will report on research undertaken in Canada, Ireland and locally in north-east Victoria in conjunction with researchers from the John Richards Initiative (JRI) at La Trobe University.Chair of Rural Aged Care Research at JRI Professor Jeni Warburton said, "This event is a great opportunity to showcase research conducted locally, and to reflect on the similarities and differences between other countries and rural north-east Victoria."