The start of a series of reports from the 16th UK Dementia Congress 2022 held on 8th-9th November
It’s great to be with one another again, to share, listen and learn, said Graham Stokes, launching the 16th UK Dementia Congress (UKDC) in Birmingham, the first to be held in-person for three years.
That was how Professor Stokes, dementia care services director at event main sponsor HC-One, summed up the purpose of UKDC, adding one important rider: “This is an opportunity to ask questions. As Voltaire said, judge a person by their questions, not by their answers. Then we can go back from whence we came and do better.”
Hundreds of practitioners, academics, people living with dementia and carers, who had gathered at Aston University’s conference centre for a plethora of debates, workshops, performances and presentations, clearly planned to do just that. Helping to launch UKDC, Chris Gage, director of event partner Vibrant Communities, captured its spirit as he described the Open Space discussion forums taking place there: “There are pretty much no rules but there is one law: if you’re not contributing and learning, go to the next place where you might contribute and learn.”