ADI were delighted to welcome 1,177 delegates from 105 countries to both the virtual and in-person event in Krakow, Poland. Following the theme of ‘Dementia: Insights. Innovations. Inspirations.’, the conference programme reflected the 7 key action areas of the WHO Global Action Plan on dementia. Speakers from global organisations such as the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, Karolinska Institutet and WWFingers formed the plenary sessions, alongside national health representatives from Poland, Canada and Chile.
Just before the closing ceremony, we were thrilled to receive commitment from the Polish health secretary to a national dementia plan:
In response to the needs of people with dementia and their relatives, the Ministry of Health is working on the first National Dementia Plan. In order to plan solutions responding to the needs of those living with dementia and their carers as fully as possible, we seek good practices from other countries and make use of international expertise… Many NGOs have already expressed their readiness to work with us, and we plan to hold wide public consultations of the plan in order to better coordinate our initiatives.
ADI and Polskie Stowarzyszenie Pomocy Osobom z Chorobą Alzheimera committed to working with the Polish Ministry of Health on the first draft of their National Dementia Plan.
Royal Attendance
ADI were honoured to be joined this year by two of our global ambassadors: Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain and Her Royal Highness Princess Muna al Hussein of Jordan. Their presence throughout the event touched many of our delegates, and spoke to the ever-growing importance of awareness raising for dementia. We thank them both for their continued support of ADI and their enthusiasm for the conference.
Conference Programme and exhibition
The hybrid format enabled 388 authors to present their posters, alongside over 180 virtual presentations. The vast programme included sessions on assistive technology, AI and innovation; non-pharmacological interventions; and dementia therapies (dance, music, etc.), and presentations ranging from an exploration of public perception of dementia on social media to the implementation of video technology-based social engagement for carers.
The vibrant and busy exhibition gave delegates the chance to discuss their work with colleagues and visit the array of stands and booths. ADI welcomed exhibitors from a range of interests in the dementia space, which meant that there was truly something for every delegate. In the closing ceremony, Membership Manager Gloria Mantineo announced Cameroon as the winner of the member showcase.
Virtual conference
We were delighted to offer over 25 on-demand sessions to all conference delegates, which provided presenters that were unable to get to Poland with the opportunity to showcase their work. The virtual conference also included an exciting virtual exhibition, and a comprehensive live-stream of all plenary sessions, the opening and closing ceremony, several symposia and the majority of the parallel sessions.