For World Alzheimer's Day, Alzheimer Bulgaria took part in various events to promote prevention, awareness-raising and advocacy. On 23 September, the association participated in the final conference of a project called “Advocacy campaign for presenting, imposing and disseminating the concept of specialised daycare centres and other services in the community for people with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia”. Alzheimer Bulgaria partnered with Foundation Compassion Alzheimer (FCA) for this project, which was funded by the Active Citizens Fund. At the conference there were participants from Bulgarian ministries, national agencies, directors of residential care homes, a representative of the WHO and representatives of families affected by dementia. During the meeting, Alzheimer Bulgaria and FCA shared the outcomes of the projects (a report of good practices in Europe and a concept of a daycare centre), as well as the results. Participants also discussed the policy-related problems that hinder people with dementia in benefiting from the daycare services.
Alzheimer Bulgaria also prepared an online social media campaign, sharing the personal stories of relatives of people with dementia. Positive posts were shared with photos and personal stories and feelings, poems, and inspiring words. The last initiative that Alzheimer Bulgaria prepared was the annual run for World Alzheimer’s Day, in collaboration with “5kmrun”. On 2 October, in one of the parks in Sofia, the association will take part in a regular Saturday 5km run, for the 3rd year in a row, in order to spread the word about preventive healthcare through sport. The slogan of the event is “Let’s outrun dementia together”. Each year more and more participants take part in the run and learn more about dementia. All participants receive T-shirts stamped with the Alzheimer Bulgaria slogan.
The association continues to develop its initiatives, in order to raise awareness and make the Bulgarian population more engaged with the problems of people affected by dementia. World Alzheimer’s Day is a great opportunity to popularise the idea of a dementia-friendly society.
