by Alzheimer Europe
The 32nd Alzheimer Europe Conference (#32AEC) ‘Building bridges’ was held from 17 to 19 October 2022, at the JW Marriot Hotel conference centre in Bucharest, Romania. It was held as a hybrid event for the first time ever, with delegates and presenters able to join either onsite or online, thus making it as accessible, inclusive and interactive as possible. The conference attracted 544 participants from 42 countries, and the agenda included over 250 presenters (187 oral presentations, 38 quick oral presentations and 63 poster presentations), who shared their research, knowledge and experience in an atmosphere of true collaboration and solidarity.
Iva Holmerová, outgoing Chairperson of Alzheimer Europe (pictured, centre), opened the conference, extending a special welcome to the 22 people with dementia among the delegates, as well as to their supporters. Echoing the theme of the conference, she said, “we hope to build bridges across European borders, to ensure that good practices in dementia care and innovations in diagnosis and treatment are made equally available across the whole European continent.” As our countries are slowly emerging and recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, our continent has unfortunately seen the return of war.
Iva Holmerová, outgoing Chairperson of Alzheimer Europe (pictured, centre), opened the conference, extending a special welcome to the 22 people with dementia among the delegates, as well as to their supporters. Echoing the theme of the conference, she said, “we hope to build bridges across European borders, to ensure that good practices in dementia care and innovations in diagnosis and treatment are made equally available across the whole European continent.” As our countries are slowly emerging and recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, our continent has unfortunately seen the return of war.
However disheartening, she stressed that she was encouraged by neighbouring countries welcoming Ukrainians fleeing the conflict and by organisations doing their best to support refugees with dementia and their carers. She highlighted the vital work of the European Working Group of People with Dementia (EWGPWD), noting the 10th anniversary of the group this year; singled out the fantastic collaboration that Alzheimer Europe has developed with the INTERDEM network; and expressed the organisation’s gratitude to its corporate conference sponsors, Biogen, Lilly, PAVE and Roche. In closing, she informed delegates of her decision to step down from the position of Chairperson of Alzheimer Europe. “The organisation has grown a lot in my time here and I am very proud of our achievements, not least of which is our success in truly giving a voice to and integrating people with dementia in all our work”, she stated. She also warmly congratulated her successor, Rosário Zincke dos Reis from Portugal, who was elected as her successor, during Alzheimer Europe’s Annual Meeting, just prior to the conference.
Following these opening words, delegates were also welcomed by Diana-Loreta Păun, Presidential Advisor, Romania, Chris Roberts, Chairperson of the EWGPWD, Marjolein de Vugt, Chairperson, INTERDEM (Early detection and timely INTERvention in DEMentia) and Cătălina Tudose, Chairperson of Societatea Română Alzheimer. The opening ceremony was followed by a keynote presentation delivered by Alexander Kurz, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Germany, called ‘Building bridges – Promoting good dementia care through pan-European collaboration’.
You can read Alzheimer Europe’s full conference report, here: https://www.alzheimer-europe.org/news/alzheimer-europe-holds-its-32nd-annual-conference-32aec-bucharest-and-online
