On 21 September, Alzheimer Iceland held its Annual Conference under the motto “Take matters into your own hands” where over 200 persons met onsite and 200 attended online. The Association also organises regular educational meetings onsite and streamed online, as well as educational meetings for institutions and companies. and maintains a powerful website and social media presence. The Association has recently launched an app (translated from a Norwegian model) accessible to everyone and free of charge. It is available in Icelandic for people who want to increase their knowledge of dementia and interact with or care for people with dementia. The app is divided into three parts: observations, word art and good advice. Leaflets for people with dementia and brochures concerning the Association and its service centre called “Seiglan” are also available.
In 2023 the Association launched an awareness campaign called “Remember the path…” on social media and all over Iceland. They held a sponsored concert to raise money for the Association and many more engaging events. As a part of the dementia-friendly society in Iceland, Alzheimer Iceland collaborated with municipalities to paint benches in purple in their local communities on busy walking routes. On the purple benches there is a QR code that leads to their website (www.alzheimer.is) and a sentence: “Remember the path…” This initiative raised much attention and many municipalities joined, and the benches are now part of their society. A “benchwalk” was held last spring, people walked from one bench to the Association offices joined by people with dementia and their relatives, many of them dressed in purple.
