This year, a number of DAI members have had the great privilege and honour to attend the Alzheimer's Disease International 2016 Conference held the last few days in Budapest. As Chair, CEO and co-founder, as well as now an official ADI Board member, it has been a very busy week, and none has had time to write a blog about it.
I'm hoping our pictures on Facebook have helped you feel vaguely connected. Most have been added to individual members pages, as I forgot to add many to our own Facebook page!
On the day before the conference, history was made for the second time. The first time we made history was when I was invited to Geneva to present at the WHO First Ministerial Conference on Dementia, and placed Human Rights and Disability Rights on the global agenda last year in March, demanding access to the United Nations Conventions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
This started a global campaign, and with the help and expertise of DAI member Professor Peter Mittler, a report was written by Neil Crowther, on behalf of DAI and ADI. It was submitted to the ADI Council members (the country Alzheimer's Associations/Societies) on Wednesday, and it was unanimously accepted, and agreed that the campaign for the human rights of people with dementia will be continued, hence o ur second historical moment.
DAI co-founder and current Treasurer, John Sandblom represented us well by giving the Inaugural Richard Taylor Memorial Lecture, which of course, brought may of us to tears. It is though, wonderful to know that Richard's legacy will live on, and we will also have the first Richard Taylor Advocates Award, to be announced on World Alzheimer's Day in September of this year. Information regarding this will be sent to our members and supporters very soon.
Until we have time to edit and add the videos and presentations notes from the many speeches given by people with dementia, who by the way, were in every session, the best speakers by far (no bias at all here, as many delegates have said this)...
As soon as I get home to Adelaide, I will make every effort to write a review of the conference, but for now, I have added a photo collage of photographs below.
Those of us who attended, worked very hard to ensure we represented as many voices as humanly possible, and worked very hard trying to do so. As the photographs will show you, we also had a lot of fun!
Best wishes,
Kate Swaffer