On the mornings of 1 and 2 September 2026, Alzheimer Europe (AE) welcomed over 40 delegates to its Public Affairs meeting in Brussels (Belgium), including representatives of national member associations from 24 different countries across Europe, as well as AE staff and representatives from both the European Dementia Carers Working Group (EDCWG) and the European Working Group of People with Dementia (EWGPWD).
The agenda on 1 September began with a section on “Campaigns and communications during World Alzheimer’s Month”, moderated by Angela Bradshaw, Deputy Executive Director, who introduced colleagues from AE’s Communications team, Kate Boor Ellis and Liv Krier, who shared AE’s plans for this important awareness-raising month. Their presentation was followed by a wide variety of presentations of activities from member associations, delivered by Anne de Boer (Netherlands), Nicola Montesin (Malta), Maria do Rosário Zincke dos Reis (Portugal), Thanos Chatzikostopoulos (Greece), Lorène Gilly (France), Guðlaugur Eyjólfsson (Iceland), Alma Orahovac (Montenegro), Jocelyn Grant (Ireland), Zeljka Cvjetan-Gortinski (Serbia), Aslı Demirtaş Tatlıdede (Türkiye), Ágnes Egervari (Hungary) and Ieva Petkutė (Lithuania).
Next up was a section on prioritising dementia at EU level, again moderated by Angela Bradshaw, with presentations given by Jean Georges, Executive Director, who spoke about the Helsinki Manifesto, and Owen Miller, Policy Officer, whose presentation was titled “Towards a European neurological health strategy: Lessons from cardiovascular and cancer programmes”. Following their presentations there was discussion time, with members contributing their thoughts and experience on the topic.
The second day of the meeting began with an introduction from AE Chairperson Maria do Rosário Zincke dos Reis, who welcomed the speakers for the first segment on “Partnering in dementia research projects”, moderated by Angela. Cindy Birck, Research Lead, gave an update on AE’s EU-funded dementia research projects for 2026, whilst Edyta Ekwińska (Poland), Thanos Chatzikostopoulos (Greece) and Maya Marinova (Bulgaria) shared their associations’ experiences of partnering in EU or national dementia research projects
Ana Diaz, Public Involvement Lead, moderated the final part of the meeting, which focused on AE’s priorities for next year, with contributions coming from Angela Bradshaw, who shared the Work Plan for 2027, Dianne Gove, Director for Public Involvement and Ethics, who explored ways we can improve the involvement of underrepresented groups in our work, and Jean Georges who spoke about broadening the European dementia community via partnerships and associates. Discussions ensued, with lots of highly useful feedback from our national members associations.
A big thank to all those who attended and helped make this such a lively, insightful and impactful meeting.
