BU Research Blog

To mark the successes of the Dorset Dementia-Friendly Communities (DDFC) project, a celebratory event was held in Corfe Mullen on 26^th September. This event enabled those who had been part of the project, and members of the local communities, to gather to celebrate key achievements since the project began in 2012. Attendees also had the chance to contribute their ideas into planning opportunities and services across Dorset that would help to take this work forwards.

The event showcased local Dementia-Friendly initiatives, such as Dementia-Friendly Churches by Faithworks Wessex and Lizzie Kingsbury’s awareness raising activities to school children in Sherborne. Whilst I presented the findings from the evaluation of the DDFC project, recently completed by Bournemouth University Dementia Institute (BUDI). BUDI were one of ten partners involved in the DDFC project, which aimed to establish seven Dementia-Friendly Communities across Dorset in Blandford Forum, Christchurch, Dorchester, Poole, Southbourne, Weymouth and Portland, and Wimborne Minster. View the evaluation report at: http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/dementia-institute/reports/

BUDI’s open meeting in 2015, which will be held on 20^th May to coincide with Dementia Awareness Week, will focus on the topic of Dementia-Friendly Communities. For further details see: http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/dementia-institute/events/upcoming/