Dementia-inclusive communities in Ireland

The NSAI Committee on "Ageing Societies and Dementia Inclusive Communities" (NSAI/TC023/SC06) was first established to facilitate Irish involvement in the international ISO Committee for "Ageing Societies" (ISO/TC314). The draft international standard, ISO/DIS 23623, "Framework for dementia inclusive communities" was released in January 2021 and the national committee organised a number of workshops to ensure that all stakeholders' voices were heard - especially those of people living with dementia and their caregivers. 

Due to the great interest in this work and the wealth of expertise and experience demonstrated by the stakeholders, a follow-on webinar was held to further explore the importance and possibilities of dementia-inclusive communities in Ireland.

This 2.5 hour webinar, "Dementia inclusive communities in Ireland," gives an overview of the draft standard and gives voice to a range of stakeholders, including those living with dementia, acting as caregivers, working in the community, advocating, or conducting research in the area of dementia. During this webinar, we will hear about:

• Dementia-inclusive communities from the caregiver's perspective
• Coalition led response to building awareness and understanding of dementia, and inspiring communities to become dementia inclusive
• Why Dementia-inclusive communities should matter to all of us
• The Genesis of a West Limerick Memory Clinic – Meeting a Community Need
• Improving services for people with Alzheimer’s Disease from LGBTQ+ community
• Education and training to support physiotherapists working in dementia care
• Introduction to Dementia Research Network Ireland (DRNI)
• Forget-Me-Nots, a dementia-inclusive choir
• Introduction to Engaging Dementia
• How music and technology can be used by people developing dementia-inclusive communities.

Further Notes
The “Universal Design Consultative committee” (NSAI/TC023), chaired by Dr Ger Craddock of the Centre for Excellence in Universal Design at the National Disability Authority,  established the sub-committee on “Ageing Societies and Dementia Inclusive Communities” (NSAI/TC023/SC06) to ensure the participation of national experts on the international work under development at ISO/TC314, covering "Ageing Societies".  The establishment of this national committee fully supports the diversity of the work undertaken by NSAI/TC023 under the leadership of Dr Craddock and their continued work on developing “Guidelines for Dementia Friendly Dwellings for People with Dementia, their Families and Carers.”