For years, Alzheimer Uniti Italia has promoted the Community-friendly Project (with a capital P) for people with dementia in various Italian regions: a cultural transformation that involves all citizens and encourages a new approach to frailty. This is not an initiative with a deadline, but a path of continuous change, rooted in the history, habits and experiences of each of us. For a city to truly become a dementia-friendly community, it is necessary to listen to the real needs of individuals and families, building concrete and sustainable models that over time become an authentic way of being and doing. In this spirit, among the many activities the organisation carries out to fight stigma and loneliness, they have created “An Unforgettable Holiday”: a project born from the genuine desire of a person with dementia, which they have been successfully realising for five years and recently presented at the 35th Alzheimer Europe Conference in Bologna.
The goal is to raise awareness of the “Vacation model”, now in its fifth year. For many people with Alzheimer’s disease, travelling without their carer/supporter seems impossible. Yet, when a trained, empathetic, and prepared team is present, taking a vacation becomes accessible even for those without a family companion. Organising an inclusive vacation doesn't simply mean "taking someone on vacation", but creating an environment of shared care, where everyone feels welcomed and valued.
The experience has clear and profound objectives:
-To offer a week of leisure and normality to people with dementia and their families, because everyone has the right to have a holiday
-To experiment with a vacation from a hedonic approach, based on cognitive, sensorial and emotional stimulation
-To raise awareness in the area and among train operators, promoting dementia-friendly tourism that breaks down stigma and opens new paths to inclusion
-To develop replicable models for tourism that leave no one behind. The next step is to spread this model, make it a shared heritage and build local networks capable of welcoming and valorising every person, even those who are vulnerable.