The Donne e Benessere women’s exercise program formerly known as Noi Donne has an uncertain date of birth sometime before 1988 – official records at the Coordinating Italian Committee (CIC) start in 1988 but nothing prior to that seems to exist in the CIC records.

One founding member, if not its architect (Vincenza) firmly believes that the program commenced in 1986! Together with Norwood Payneham and St Peters Council, Vincenza coordinated the program until the early 2000s.

The CIC took the reins of the administration of the program with the same enthusiasm Vincenza gave as a coordinator. She is still very much connected to the program, now attending as a participant; she has lost none of her fondness for the older participants just as she welcomes new women participants.

To the best of the CIC’s knowledge, Donne is the longest running women’s exercise program in Adelaide. Every Monday the group meets at Payneham Library. There are two classes – with qualified instructors: Advanced for more active women and the Gentle group for women who require chair-based exercises.

The CIC bus has ensured participants without transport can still attend the program, be active, socialise and keep up long-term friendship and acquaintances. The perk of a community bus is that there are no council boundaries, with people accessing transport from the Campbelltown, Norwood, or Port Adelaide areas.

On 15 August every year, program participants celebrate the traditional Italian Ferragosto Day. This year on 17 August to commemorate the 35^th Anniversary of the program, the women enjoyed a visit to Lochend Historical House at Campbelltown.

The annual outing is well-attended and greatly anticipated with an extra edge this year, as it marked the ‘official’ Anniversary of the Donne.

In the early days, the Noi Donne program supported the women emotionally and socially; their concerns, needs and issues were addressed, and guest speakers engaged to cover topics raised.

In December 2007, (much to the horror of many of the women) Noi Donne ‘We Women’ changed its name to Donne e Benessere – Women and Wellbeing. The older stalwarts find the new name hard to accept, referring to the program as ‘Donne’ an acceptable compromise.

Over the years, weekly exercises continued but information sessions became monthly, with regular outings and celebrations like International Women’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea, and Christmas added to the program.

Like other community activities, 2020 brought many changes – when lock down and isolation rules changed and participants returned to activity programs, some of the older women did not.

Many new participants have joined the program and the CIC welcomes the fact the group is no longer ‘Italian Specific’. Today, Maxine (Advance Class Instructor), Deb (Gentle Class Instructor) and Antonietta (Program Coordinator) look forward to and enjoy the one-hour session with the women who continue to exercise within their capacity with no change in their enthusiasm.

While celebrating at Lochend a toast was made with a wish for everyone at the program to attend for many more years and offer a huge welcome to other cultures.

The Coordinating Italian Committee is supported by Office for Ageing Well, SA Health through the Ageing Well in CALD Communities Grants program.