Who we are

As an organisation, MAG falls under the aegis of ACON from whom it obtains funding. But, of course, MAG likes to stand on its own feet as much as possible. MAG has its own committee elected at Annual General Meetings and raises much funding directly through activities such as Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Fair Day & raffles, as well as through generous donations of its members & supporters.

A prime concern of the MAG Committee is to create a friendly, non-threatening environment for our members and supporters in which the Safe Sex message can be successfully promoted and the latest AIDS-related information conveyed. In setting up MAG, Steve Ostrow realised that the holistic approach is the most effective way to educate the mature gay community on AIDS. This concern for the person as a whole, and ACON’s tell it like it is approach to AIDS education, have played a not insignificant part in making NSW’s GLBT community, one of the most safe sex conscious communities in the World. The success of this strategy over the years has been amply proved by international comparisons on the reduction in deaths due to AIDS.

Though understanding about AIDS is an important focus, our meetings are not in any way restricted to this. Indeed we engage speakers on all topics of interest to our members as will be evident from this WEB site. In addition, one meeting out of every four is a purely social evening without invited speakers—giving members an opportunity to relax and get to know one another in a friendly environment. We also present gay-themed feature films in a separate room on many social nights for those members who wish to enjoy them.

We publish a bi-monthly newsletter, MAGazine, which shows the wide variety of activities MAG makes available to members & supporters.