The Demented Poets: Film as Activism, Language as Protest, and What Happens When People Living With Dementia Lead Their Own Story
Lunchtime Sessions 1
17 November, 2026 1:20 – 2:05 pmLunchtime Workshop
Graham Galloway is the CEO of Meeting Centres Scotland, a charity that oversees the support and development of dementia Meeting Centres in Scotland. Meeting Centres are an evidence-based model of hyperlocal community support for families affected by dementia, originally developed in the Netherlands, but now growing across the world. Graham was one of the founders of Scotland’s first Meeting Centre, Kirrie Connections, and is actively involved with several other third-sector organisations. In addition to his role with Meeting Centres Scotland, Graham holds the position of Co-Chair at the development support charity Outside the Box, and serves as treasurer for the Angus Rural Partnership
Willy has spent most of his life in Northampton, where he started his working life as a community worker before becoming a journalist with BBC Local Radio – where he interviewed everyone from the person in the street to Cabinet Ministers. He moved to Edinburgh six years ago, and lives in Leith. He was diagnosed five years ago with MCI. He’s involved with a number of dementia activism initiatives, including work with Deepness, Age Scotland and Playlist for Life. His passion is art, and he’s invariably to be found with sketchbook and pen.
Willy Gilder
Chairperson
Meeting Centres Scotland
Willy has spent most of his life in Northampton, where he started his working life as a community worker before becoming a journalist with BBC Local Radio – where he interviewed everyone from the person in the street to Cabinet Ministers. He moved to Edinburgh six years ago, and lives in Leith. He was diagnosed five years ago with MCI. He’s involved with a number of dementia activism initiatives, including work with Deepness, Age Scotland and Playlist for Life. His passion is art, and he’s invariably to be found with sketchbook and pen.
Summary
An interactive workshop built around The Demented Poets, a documentary following Ron Coleman, a man living with vascular dementia who used the word “demented” as an act of protest and led a movement of dementia activists in Scotland. Directed by BAFTA-winning filmmaker Ian Bustard and supported by Meeting Centres Scotland, the film toured 15 venues across Scotland and has won international film festival awards.
The workshop will screen a section of the film, then facilitate a structured discussion exploring co-production in practice (what changes when the person living with dementia holds the creative power), the politics of language (who decides which words are acceptable, and what is lost when organisations override the choices people living with dementia make about their own identity), and film as a participatory tool (what the 15-venue screening tour taught us about designing events that generate real conversation rather than passive viewing). Participants will leave with a practical understanding of what genuinely co-produced creative work looks like, what it costs, and what it makes possible.