Alzheimer's Disease International wish to extend their thanks to everyone who attended this year's 31st International Conference of ADI in Budapest, with a very warm welcome to new members from Ghana and Cayman Islands. We are excited to recognise the contributions of both members and look forward to supporting them in the near future. We also wish to give special thanks to the Hungarian Alzheimer's Society who supported the conference in Budapest.

The conference was attended by over 850 delegates, exploring global examples of dementia friendly communities, the latest in dementia care and research and the ways in which ADI and our members can help mobilise the rights of people with dementia, by accessing the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

The opening ceremony of the conference recognised the importance of carers around the world with our ADI-Home Instead 'Carer of the Year 2016' Award presented to Vassiliki Terkenli, a family carer from Greece. At the same time, ADI released two new reports and new website content outlining the key principles, importance and examples of dementia friendly communities worldwide.

The conference included a number of speakers with dementia, with an opening by a person with dementia on both Friday and Saturday, including people with dementia from Hungary. A number of workshops were also led by people with dementia, including several thought provoking talks by Prof. Peter Mittler, Kate Swaffer and John Sandblom from Dementia Alliance International. Other workshops included a pre-conference workshop on hospital care and dementia, ADI workshops on fundraising and strengthening associations, NCD Dialogues, sponsored symposia and a symposium on traumatic brain injury and dementia, organised by the Hungarian Alzheimer's Society.

The conference was a further opportunity to hear about the fantastic work of our members from around the globe, including presentations on dementia cafes by Argentina and Slovenia, the huge success of the 'Dementia Supporter Caravan' program in Japan, Green care farms in the Netherlands and many more. A large number of Alzheimer Associations also presented their work throughout the programme, with 20 stands by Alzheimer Associations providing information on their activities and three associations presenting on their contribution to dementia research funding in the final plenary 'Bringing Research Together'. The exhibition area featured stands from ADI partners and sponsors, while the gallery floor featured 179 poster stands on a range of topics from end of life care to clinical studies and healthcare research. ADI wishes to further acknowledge the support of all the sponsors who helped make the conference a huge success.

From various presentations we learned there that there is good progress in medical research with exciting news of potential new drug treatments becoming available in the coming years, as well as research on risk reduction and the results of studies in the psychosocial field, summarised by Prof. Martin Orrell. Other presentations included the importance of engaging people with dementia in clinical research, of funding global research and focusing on the impact of dementia in lower income countries. Issues of stigma and awareness, as well as end of life care and human rights, were core parts of the programme.   

The conference concluded with a powerful message for ADI to strengthen its commitment to the rights, and voices, of people with dementia worldwide, through further collaboration with Dementia Alliance International and an exciting invitation for our supporters globally to join us at the 32nd International Conference of ADI in Kyoto, April 2017. 

Slides of the presentations shared at this conference will be available online soon, at the Alzheimer's Disease International website.

ADI is excited this month to officially welcome DY Suharya as the new Deputy Regional Director of the ADI Asia Pacific Regional Office. DY will begin in May 2016, allowing for a 6-month transition into the role while she relieves her executive responsibilities in Alzheimer's Indonesia (ALZI).

Francis Wong, Regional Director of the Asia Pacific Office, said "I would like to thank the board of ALZI for their support of DY's personal development and assistance to the region. I would also like to appeal to you, members of the Asia Pacific region to give DY the same support and guidance as you have shown me over the past years."

We hope you will join us all in extending a very warm welcome to DY.

Alzheimer's Disease International has called on global leaders to help create societies where the inclusion of people living with dementia becomes part of everyday life.

ADI reports, 'Dementia Friendly Communities: Key principles' and 'Dementia Friendly Communities: Global developments' were released this month at the opening ceremony of the 31st International Conference of ADI in Budapest, 21 April 2016. The reports were followed by a workshop on the 22 April, outlining current examples and the crucial importance of supporting dementia friendly initiatives worldwide. The workshop was chaired by Dr. Ivonne Jiménez-Vel ázquez with presentations by the Alzheimer's & Related Disorders Society of India, the German Alzheimer's Society and others from Luxembourg, Canada and the UK 

As part of the launch, ADI have launched a new webpage where anyone can download the reports, find information on local initiatives and upload new examples from dementia friendly communities worldwide.

The framework of dementia friendly has the power to change the way we think about living with dementia. ADI strongly encourages members to use the resources provided on the website, and to submit their own materials to help make this a live resource on this important issue globally. Go to our new dementia friendly communities webpage now.

Alzheimer's Australia have released a report outlining the legal rights of people with dementia, and the importance of being able to make decisions early in the course of the disease.

People with dementia were well represented at this year's Alzheimer's Disease International Conference in Budapest, with a number of speakers including Prof. Peter Mittler, Kate Swaffer and John Sandblom giving presentations throughout the programme.

One blog following presentations at the conference include Brain health, diabetes and dementia , written by DAI supporter and volunteer, Dr Shibley Rahman. It is a very interesting read and provides an excellent précis of the conference as well.