World Alzheimer's Day™ 2002 events

[photo] Krister Westerlund, from Alzheimerforeningen i Sverige, thanks Queen Silvia for participating in World Alzheimer's Day

[photo] President Abdul Kalam with members of Alzheimer's and Related Disorders Society of India

[photo] Volunteers preparing for World Alzheimer's Day in Beijing, China

[photo] A public seminar is just one way the day was marked in Indonesia

[photo] Providing information to shoppers in Cartago, Costa Rica

[photo] The Swiss Alzheimer Association co-ordinated a national street campaign on 21 September

[photo] Warming up for the marathon rowathon in Napier, New Zealand

[photo] 400 people participated in Berlin's second Memory Walk

[photo] Memory Walks in London all featured a balloon release

[photo] Warming up for the Memory Walk in Singapore

Throughout the world, Alzheimer associations united in their efforts to raise awareness of dementia on World Alzheimer's Day.

In Sweden, Queen Silvia inaugurated World Alzheimer's Day at a large seminar in Stockholm on 21 September. The Queen talked about on the role of the carer and the need for carers of people with dementia to take care of themselves. Queen Silvia, whose mother died of Alzheimer's disease, spoke from her own experience of caring for her mother.

India's President, Abdul Kalam, launched the first ever book on Alzheimer's disease in India on World Alzheimer's Day at the President's headquarters in New Delhi. This was just one of hundreds of events organised throughout 400 centres in India on 21 September. Other events included fun runs, walks, seminars, conferences and lectures.

A highlight of this year's World Alzheimer's Day was the fact that so many Alzheimer associations organised a Memory Walk in their own country. Memory Walk is a concept developed by the Alzheimer's Association (USA) in 1989 which has now become the Association's national fundraising event. ADI has been encouraging its members to adopt this walk-a-thon concept, and was delighted that ten countries were able to do so. Although no two walks were the same, about 11,000 walkers from all around world were united under the official Memory Walk logo, raising awareness of dementia and raising money for their Alzheimer association.

In Singapore, the Minister of Health flagged off 2000 participants who not only walked the 2.8km route at Toa Payoh but also took away with them a Memory Walk T-shirt, goodie bag, lucky draw prizes and knowledge of Alzheimer's disease and the services for people with dementia available in Singapore. Fringe activities were also organised and included fun-fair games, sports stations and painting of Memory Wall tiles. It was a walk to remember.

In Luxembourg, Memory Walks were organised in the form of guided tours through the city's historical sites. Groups of people were led by professional tour guides around the city, in a route lined with balloons and information stands.

The Memory Walk in Lahore, Pakistan attracted 1100 people from all over Pakistan. Apart from raising a huge amount of money for the association, the walk also resulted in 200 volunteers registering with the association - a group of whom are hoping to set up a branch in the city of Karachi.

More than in 800 enthusiastic walkers congregated in Luneta Park, Metro Manila at 6am to start their Memory Walk. The Undersecretary of Health, Dr Eusebio Lopez, joined families, students, medical professionals and representatives from religious organisations in their efforts to raise awareness.

Memory Walks were also held in Germany, Sri Lanka, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand and the UK.

Confederacion Espanola de Familiares de Enfermos de Alzheimer y otras Demencias, hosts of ADI 2002 conference, organised a national conference which was inaugurated by the Minister of Health. Over 20 medical professionals emphasized the importance of recognising the early symptoms of dementia and receiving an early diagnosis. In addition to this national event, the confederation's 100 branches organised film showings, theatre productions, concerts and exhibitions throughout Spain.

The Alzheimer's Association of China organised their first ever World Alzheimer's Day event. The organisation hosted a conference which was attended by the members of the Ministry of Health, the Health Bureau of Beijing and Chinese Aging Health Care Association. Guests also included famous Chinese actors, singer and musician.

This year, the Hungarian Alzheimer Society celebrated World Alzheimer's Day in collaboration with staff at Tesco (the international supermarket chain), the Hungarian Red Cross, the Roman Catholic Church Charity League and the Hungarian Psychiatrists Association. Together they organised activities throughout the country highlighting the problem of dementia to the government and the general public.

Over in Napier, New Zealand, World Alzheimer's Day was marked at a local gymnasium with a 24-hour rowing marathon. Teams from local businesses, institutions, schools and sports clubs rowed a total of 1,088,260 metres in 24-hours to raise money for the Napier branch of the Alzheimers New Zealand.

As mentioned previously, the Polish Alzheimer's Association organised a debate on Alzheimer's disease at the Polish Senate (the upper house of the Polish Parliament). The association wanted to make Senators, members of the Social Policy and Health Commission of the Senate aware of people with dementia's needs and lack of services available. The chairman of the Commission was invited to a press conference the following day where he emphasized the need for a National Strategy for Care in Dementia - which the association had called for during the debate. A few days later, the association arranged for a theatre performance of 'A Trip to Buenos Aires'. The play, written by two sisters whose grandmother had Alzheimer's disease was performed in front of the former Prime Minister, other politicians and journalists and also marked the association's 10th anniversary.

Alzheimer Nederland also used World Alzheimer's Day as a platform for a parliamentary debate entitled 'Care for the Future'. Six days after the debate, members of the association visited the Ministry of Welfare, Health and Sports and handed over a petition with 11,500 signatures drawing attention to the needs of people with dementia and their families, as well as highlighting problems within the Dutch health care system.

The Federated Alzheimer's Association of Mexico made the best of technology by transmitting a videoconference to ten cities within Mexico. The National Health Ministry supported the conference and speakers included doctors and professionals from leading not-for-profit organisations in Mexico.

The Alzheimer's Association of Peru focused their efforts on a public education campaign for World Alzheimer's Day. Members of the association distributed printed materials about memory loss and other symptoms of dementia whilst health professionals gave free consultants to elderly people concerned with their memory.

In Malaysia, the Alzheimer's Disease Foundation launched a Detecting Dementia workshop, following the launch of the successful Dementia Screening project the previous year. The pilot workshop, held at a state level, targeted training GPs and paramedics to recognise the symptoms of dementia. The workshops will be repeated throughout Malaysia over the coming year.

Association Alzheimer Suisse took to the streets in pink - their association colour - to raise the profile of the organisation. Members of the public were not only handed over information brochures but also balloons and a puzzle.

The Alzheimer Association in Turkey opened the country's first nursing home with lots of media coverage. The media attention prompted a Major from another city to build a similar home in his city!

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