On 22 October 2019, at the regular assembly meeting of Alzheimer Croatia, new leadership was voted in. Mira Dajčić (pictured) was elected as the new President, Tomislav Huić, Nataša Klepac and Ninoslav Mimica as Vice-Presidents, and Tajana Dajčić as Secretary. Mrs Dajčić, founder and former Vice-President of the society, was previously a family caregiver. She is well known for her tireless running of a counselling centre and for educating formal and informal carers of people with dementia and fighting for their rights. In 2011, she received the Volunteer of the Year Award in Croatia, and in 2012 she received the prestigious City of Zagreb Award for the highest merits and achievements in areas of social health in the City of Zagreb.
Tomislav Huić, was a family caregiver and has had a professional career as a journalist, marketing director, creative director at advertising agencies, and senior lecturer of marketing communications. On behalf of Alzheimer Croatia, he has led corporate communications and projects, developed the Dementia Friends Croatia initiative and Alzheimer's Educational Conferences, as well as other operational activities. Nataša Klepac is a cognitive neurologist at the Clinic for Neurology of the Clinical Hospital Center Zagreb, and is a professor at the Zagreb School of Medicine. In her past work for Alzheimer Croatia, she has helped many people with dementia and their family carers. She has also run education programmes about dementia for physicians and nurses.
Ninoslav Mimica, President of Alzheimer Croatia for the past three terms, is a specialist in psychiatry, and professor at the Faculty of Medicine in Zagreb. In his many years working for Alzheimer Croatia, he has distinguished himself through the struggle to understand dementia as an important public health problem and is one of the main contributors to the proposal of the Croatian national Alzheimer's strategy. Tajana Dajčić, current and re-elected Secretary, was a family caregiver, educated as an economist and is the only full-time employee of the society. She is the fundraising manager and project manager of European and national projects.
In her inaugural address, the new President, Mrs Dajčić thanked the members of the Board of Alzheimer Croatia for their contributions, to date. She stressed the need to continue to work hard so that people with dementia can live better and longer lives. Stronger demands need to be made for changes in public health policies, and especially for the adoption of a dementia strategy in Croatia. Finally, Mrs Dajčić expressed the hope that Alzheimer Croatia will grow into a professional body and that it will build stronger bonds with Alzheimer Europe and Alzheimer’s Disease International.
