The Social Cluster Association organised an international conference on dementia in Budapest from 1-2 October 2024, under the title "Common Speaking Experts". The first afternoon featured an expert meeting, providing an opportunity for invited national and international speakers, including healthcare and social care professionals, and policymakers, to meet and exchange ideas. Conferences often allow little time for discussion among presenters due to the focus on the audience. Here, however, participants had the opportunity to learn from each other and share experiences from different countries’ dementia strategies, including both their achievements and challenges.
Among the international guests were Katarzyna Wieczorowska-Tobis and Slavomir Tobis from Poland, René Thyrian from Germany, Iva Holmerová (former Chairperson of Alzheimer Europe) from Czechia, Jean Georges, Executive Director of Alzheimer Europe, Charles Scerri (former Vice-Chairperson of Alzheimer Europe) from Malta. Pavlos Theodorakis, representing the World Health Organization (WHO) and Norbert Zilka from the Slovak Alzheimer Society joined the discussions online. On the second day, the conference continued in a hybrid format; one-third of the 380 registered participants attended in person, while the rest joined online. Following opening remarks from State Secretaries Zsófia Koncz (Family Affairs) and Attila Fülöp (Social Care Policy) the keynote speaker Prof. Balázs Gulyás, neurobiologist and president of the Research Network, gave a keynote address on the background and reasons for preserving cognitive vitality.
In a roundtable discussion, Jean Georges (pictured, with the microphone), spoke of the importance of engaging with policymakers, while Iva Holmerová (pictured, to the right of Jean Georges) shared insights from Czechia, emphasising the importance of resource allocation and the challenges of human resources. Deputy State Secretary Attila Beneda, responsible for family policy, explained why dementia care is significant for Hungarian family policy. Ágnes Egervári (pictured, to the right of Iva Holmerová) representing the Social Cluster Association, highlighted the importance of supporting caregiving families, increasing public knowledge on dementia, and valuing caregivers. The discussion also covered research and training, as well as the recognition of dementia as a disability.
The plenary lectures and sessions addressed topics including research, treatment options for dementia, prevention methods, and non-pharmacological therapies, as well as the new opportunities offered by digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence (AI). While Hungary does not yet have an official dementia strategy, significant progress has been made in recent years. Neither the healthcare system nor the social care system alone can address the challenges of dementia, as the majority of caregiving responsibilities fall to families; around 94% of the approximately 250,000 people with dementia live at home. The Social Cluster Association is encouraged by the fact that family policy in Hungary recognises the importance of supporting individuals living with dementia and their caregivers. This conference represents an important milestone in moving these efforts forward.