On Sunday 5 and Monday 6 October, the European Working Group of People with Dementia (EWGPWD) and the European Dementia Carers Working Group (EDCWG) travelled to Bologna (Italy) for in-person meetings, prior to the 35th Alzheimer Europe Conference (35AEC). During the meetings members discussed key issues currently being addressed through Alzheimer Europe’s project work.
On day one, the EWGPWD reviewed Alzheimer Europe’s 2025 Yearbook and the forthcoming recommendations on the use of technology for and by people with dementia. The group also contributed to the HOMEDEM project, a Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Action Doctoral Network that provides high-level training in design and dementia caregiving for early-stage researchers (https://www.homedem.eu/). Members of EWGPWD were split into two groups and each met with four early-stage researchers to provide feedback on: the meaning of playfulness in adulthood (Alicia Valencia), co-creation and care (Andrea Nakakawa Bernal), role of living spaces in fostering belonging (Natsumi Wada), support services and technologies role in promoting autonomous living (Vamsi Boyanagari), sleep quality, night-time agitation and naps (Ajda Flisar), therapy coaches supporting couples affected by dementia (Marine Markaryan), food-related activities and ways to support independence (Rising Lai) and social needs of people with dementia and their carers (Sunny Tan). After the meeting, some members participated in a special photography and storytelling initiative organised by the RI-SCATTI project and Federazione Alzheimer Italia, capturing photographs of noteworthy moments and observations during the conference. A selection of their work was presented during the closing ceremony of 35AEC.
On day two, members of the EWGPWD provided feedback on FluiDx-AD, a Horizon Europe project seeking to develop affordable and easy-to-use biomarker tests to help in the diagnosis and management of Alzheimer’s disease (https://www.fluidx-ad.eu/). Members provided valuable feedback in relation to a prototype saliva collection device which may be able to detect biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease. The day was topped off with a networking event and a guided tour of the conference venue. Members of the EDCWG met on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning and discussed very similar topics to those discussed by the EWGPWD, but from the perspective of carers. Their meeting kicked off with a session on citizen science in the framework of the European Platform for Neurodegenerative Diseases (EPND). Members had a lively discussion on the topic and reflected on the potential benefits and challenges of providing different levels of access to research data to lay people. Members of the EDCWG also had the opportunity to review the draft recommendations relating to culture, leisure and transport recommendations for the 2025 Alzheimer Europe’s Yearbook and to provide feedback to the forthcoming recommendations on the use of technology for and by people with dementia. During the second day, they also had the chance to discuss and test the FluiDx-AD saliva collection device and provided relevant and important suggestions and ideas for improving it.