The WDC is delighted to announce that five new individuals have been appointed to join the council. At the annual council meeting earlier last month, it was agreed that new members would be Paola Barbarino of ADI, Maryna Lehmann who is living with dementia, Huali Wang of Peking University, Shekar Saxena of Harvard University and Philip Scheltens of the University Medical Center Amsterdam.
As part of our ongoing review project, the WDC is co-hosting a satellite roundtable event in Sydney, Australia, on 26 September 2019 with the Government of Australia, to discuss the evidence base for delivering dementia friendly initiatives.
As part of our ongoing review project, the WDC co-hosted a satellite roundtable event in Los Angeles, US, on 16 July 2019 with AARP, to discuss the evidence base for delivering dementia friendly initiatives.
Professor Dr Philip Scheltens studied at the VU University Amsterdam, Netherlands, gaining his MD in 1984, and PhD in 1993. He became Professor of Cognitive Neurology and founder of the Alzheimer Center at Amsterdam University Medical Centers in 2000, which he directed until 2022. Currently he devotes most of time heading the Dementia Fund at EQT Life Sciences, that he started in 2020.
Paola Barbarino is the CEO of Alzheimer’s Disease International. Prior to that, she was CEO of LIFE. Her previous senior positions include Cass Business School, Tate, British Library and IIED.
She is a Trustee of The Postal Museum and Lauderdale House. Previously she was a Trustee of Shelter, the UK housing and homelessness charity and of MLA London. She is also the Managing Director of Opaline Limited, a consultancy company specializing in strategy and governance.
As part of our ongoing review project, the WDC is co-hosting a satellite roundtable event in Los Angeles, US, on 16 July 2019 with AARP to discuss the evidence base for delivering dementia friendly initiatives. This is the first satellite roundtable the project will hold (with more to follow soon) and takes place alongside AAIC19.
At the Alzheimer’s Society 2019 annual conference, the WDC presented to delegates at the Oval Cricket Ground in London the need for a global movement for change.
Globally every three seconds someone develops dementia and internationally it is recognised as a severe health crisis. We know that more research is being conducted than ever before, more collaboration on policy, and more support, awareness and community action - change is happening, but is it enough?
WDC executive director Lenny Shallcross joined Ian Stuart (CEO, HSBC UK) and Jacqueline Hoogendam (Dutch government) at this year's Dementia Forum X, to assess the progress already made by dementia friendly initiatives globally, and what action is still to be taken.
The World Dementia Council is leading an international network of organisations to present the global evidence base for the delivery of meaningful Dementia Friendly Initiatives (DFIs). In launching this new project, we have teamed up with charities, businesses, academic research organisations and people affected by dementia to build the narrative on why communities across the world must deliver DFIs.
Key government leaders including former UK Prime Minister David Cameron, UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock MP, Dutch Deputy Prime Minister Hugo de Jonge, OECD Deputy Secretary General Ulrik Vestergaard Knudsen, and Japanese Assistant Minister for Health and Welfare Kenji Suwazono, came together in London on Wednesday 5 December at a World Dementia Council summit to find solutions to end the dementia crisis.