NEWSLETTER August-September 2015 shortly thereafter representing Highlights in this issue Editorial Alzheimer Disease International (ADI) at the 65th Session of the 5 August: AE receives research 2 Welcome! World Health Organisation accreditation Where to begin? Regional Committee for Europe. 15 August: AE welcomes new 7 This issue of our Policy Officer Our European Alzheimer’s Alliance newsletter covers has had a busy and successful 2 September: AE welcomes 8 August and period as well, with seven more new Policy Officer September, which MEPs joining, all of whom signed 2 September: AE hosts 13 have been a very the Glasgow Declaration during successful 25th annual busy and exciting September. I extend a warm conference 4 period for Alzheimer Europe (AE). welcome to them all and hope to 30 September: Glasgow During August we were finalising see them at our European Declaration campaign passes details for our 25th annual Parliament lunch debate on 1 halfway mark conference (25AEC), which we December. hosted together with Alzheimer MEPs have not been the only ones Slovenia. I am delighted to say that signing the Glasgow Declaration. the conference, from 2 to 4 We recently passed the halfway September in Ljubljana, was a big mark on our target of 10,000 success. My heartfelt thanks go to individual signatures, in no small Stefanija and her colleagues at part thanks to initiatives by AE and Alzheimer Slovenia and to Gwladys its members to gather signatures and the 25AEC conference support on and around World Alzheimer’s workers for all their hard work, Day (WAD). WAD was also, as ever, ensuring the whole enterprise ran a day on which our members smoothly. It was also fantastic to organised a variety of fantastic celebrate 25 years of AE with our events, many of which are conference delegates and to reflect showcased in a special section in on how far we have come in that this newsletter. time. Many of the conference Table of contents Finally, I would like to announce presentations are already available that following feedback from our Editorial ................................................... 1 on our website, and photos and newsletter survey earlier this year videos will soon join them. Alzheimer Europe................................... 2 and from member feedback at our Following our AGM in Ljubljana, I EU Projects ............................................. 6 AGM, we are making some would like to give a warm welcome changes. We have created a new Alzheimer Europe Networking .............. 7 to two new AE members. We have section, “Living with Dementia”, for European Alzheimer’s Alliance ............. 8 a new full member, EMDA – The articles by people living with Alzheimer’s Association of Israel EU developments ................................... 8 dementia, about different aspects and a new provisional member, of their lives since diagnosis. I Members’ News ...................................... 9 Udruzenje AIR from Bosnia and would like to thank Alv Orheim and World Alzheimer’s Day ........................ 11 Herzegovina. Our full member in Helen Rochford Brennan, members Living with dementia............................ 15 Greece has also changed, from of our European Working Group of Alzheimer Hellas to the Panhellenic People With Dementia (EWGPWD), Policy Watch ......................................... 15 Federation of Alzheimer’s Disease for being the first two contributors. Science Watch ...................................... 16 and Related Disorders. Please mark the dates for our 26th New Publications & Resources .......... 18 On the subject of newcomers, I am Alzheimer Europe Conference also delighted to welcome a new AE AE Calendar 2015 ................................. 19 (26AEC) in Copenhagen: 31 team member, Vanessa Challinor, October - 2 November 2016. Conferences 2015-2016 ....................... 19 who joined us as Policy Officer in mid-August. Vanessa has had a busy start, heading straight off to Jean Georges our conference in Slovenia and Executive Director Page 1 of 20 Newsletter: July 2015 “The history of dementia research shadows the cultural Alzheimer Europe atmosphere of Prague in this time. Czech, German and Jewish cultural influence”, says Prof. Holmerová. 5 August: Alzheimer Europe receives research accreditation The main thrust of Prof. Holmerová’s lecture was around the development of geriatric care in Praha 8 (a municipal On 5 August, the Luxembourg Ministry of Research district of Prague), the beginnings and development of the accredited Alzheimer Europe as a Luxembourg non-profit Centre of Gerontology as the community-based health and organisation in the field of research. This accreditation is social care provider with a focus on persons with dementia for a five-year period and can be renewed. and also the Czech Alzheimer Society and its different activities not only in Prague but in all regions of the Czech This accreditation will allow us to participate in JPND Republic. projects in the same way that we currently take part in IMI or Horizon2020 projects. 1 September: European Working Group of People with Dementia prepares for Alzheimer Europe’s 15 August: Alzheimer Europe welcomes new Policy annual conference Officer The European Working Group Alzheimer Europe is pleased to of People with Dementia met welcome a new colleague: Policy on 1 September to prepare Officer, Vanessa Challinor, who joined for the annual conference. us on 15 August. Vanessa’s role is to: They practiced their plenary Support the campaign of Alzheimer speeches and their Europe and its national member organisations in presentations for the special symposium, organised their getting dementia recognised as a European priority presence on their stand and decided how best to welcome other people with dementia to the conference. A welcome Develop policy statements and contributions to get-together was organised the next day with ongoing Commission consultations refreshments and a guided tour of the conference venue. Present the views of Alzheimer Europe to members of European institutions 2 September: Alzheimer Europe Board convenes in Support the activities of the European Alzheimer’s Ljubljana Alliance The Alzheimer Europe Board members held a meeting on 2 Liaise with other European carers’ and patients’ September in Ljubljana, Slovenia. They discussed various organisations financial and operational matters, including final Report on relevant EU and national policy preparations for the Annual General Meeting that took developments and contribute to the organisation’s place on the same day. The next meeting of the Board will monthly newsletter and quarterly Dementia in take place on 1 December in Brussels and will be followed Europe magazine by a lunch debate at the European Parliament. Collaborate with the organisation’s national member 2 September: Alzheimer Europe welcomes two new associations in the development of national reports on dementia policies. members at Annual General Meeting http://www.alzheimer-europe.org/Alzheimer-Europe/Who-we-are/Our-staff 13 August: AE Vice-Chair gives inaugural lecture at Alzheimer Scotland Centre for Policy and Practice The Alzheimer Scotland Centre for Policy and Practice, a joint partnership between University of the West of Scotland (UWS) and Alzheimer Scotland, School of Health, Nursing and Midwifery hosted a number of dementia-related events at the University’s Hamilton Campus in mid- August. Iva Holmerová, Vice-Chair of Alzheimer Europe (AE) gave her inaugural lecture as Visiting Professor of the Centre. On 2 September in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Alzheimer Europe Prof. Holmerová briefly introduced the history of dementia (AE) held its 2015 Annual General Meeting. The meeting research in Prague: At the end of the 19th century – was attended by representatives from 26 full member and beginning of the 20th century, Prague was one of the main 1 provisional member association, as well as various centres for dementia research, with work carried out by guests. Prof. Arnold Pick (who first described “Pick´s disease” in The delegates reviewed and unanimously adopted AE's 1892), Dr Oskar (who described and published 12 cases of 2014 Annual and Financial reports. dementia of the Alzheimer´s type in 1907, the same year as Alois Alzheimer’s first case, “Augusta D”) and Vojtech EMDA – The Alzheimer’s Association of Israel – and the Adalbert Kral (who worked in the area of memory Panhellenic Federation of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related disorders). Disorders were unanimously accepted as new full members of AE (the latter in lieu of previous full member, Alzheimer Hellas). The AGM also granted a new provisional Page 2 of 20 Newsletter: July 2015 membership to Udruzenje AIR (Bosnia and Herzegovina) The opening ceremony began with welcome speeches by and continued provisional membership to Alzheimer Uniti Heike von Lützau-Hohlbein and Štefanija Lukič Zlobec, the Onlus (Italy) and Compassion Alzheimer Bulgaria. respective Chairs of AE and Spominčica. Helga Rohra, Chairperson of the European Working Group of People Delegates reviewed AE’s 2015 Work Plan and Financial with Dementia (EWGPWD), gave a special welcome to Forecasts, as well as the draft Strategic Plan for 2016-2020. delegates with dementia and also thanked the Life Changes Executive Director Jean Georges appealed to AE’s Trust, which sponsored the travel expenses of numerous members to give feedback and suggestions over the people with dementia and their carers. She was followed coming weeks. If no comments on the draft plan are