On the 15th of October our network of around 30 researchers, community organisations, and others who work and live with people with dementia came together in London for our first creative workshop. Through the use of our metaphor, The EMPOWER Dementia Garden, we imagined a future for excellent and inclusive dementia care. This garden is a place where we all plant the seeds and nurture a future together where we empower a meaningful life for all.

Prior to the workshop we asked people to collect and bring with them things that remind them of nature. On arrival we asked everyone to share some of their favourite songs using a prompt sheet, which contributed to a playlist which we then played during the practical parts of the workshop. You can find it and listen here.

After a short ice breaker activity we got messy creating fingerprint pollinators to represent ourselves, as pollinators are essential to the health and growth of a garden. We decorated these pollinators with words that represent the values we will bring to the network. We then encouraged people to share things they resonated with from other peoples pollinators in an informal show and tell.

After a short ice breaker activity we got messy creating fingerprint pollinators to represent ourselves, as pollinators are essential to the health and growth of a garden. We decorated these pollinators with words that represent the values we will bring to the network. We then encouraged people to share things they resonated with from other peoples pollinators in an informal show and tell.

,Second, we came together to design our 5 point manifesto trees, along with a toolshed for the tools we need to deliver this manifesto, and a compost heap where we could throw away parts of the system that aren’t working. A common theme that was shared between the groups was the importance of embedding lived-experience in all research and decision making. Key to ensuring this would be a foundation of compassion and kindness, and valuing that everyone brings something different.

We also discussed whether “manifesto” was the right term for what we were looking to produce. To some of our network members, the word felt impersonal and inachievable, and too political. We discussed how “vision” might be more appropriate, and we agreed to take this forward to our workshop with our lived-experience panel in their workshop in December 2024.

The day highlighted the importance of working in an interdisciplinary way, and creating a safe place where people from research, social care, community organisations and informal care backgrounds can come together and share equitably. We were also able to trial our creative approach and gain feedback on the methods we used to gather information.

Our community organisations are now going to run these activities with their groups, and we can’t wait to bring all these manifestos together to drive forward and make a positive difference in dementia care 🦋

Funders & lead organisations: ESRC: Economic and Social Research Council, Alzheimer’s Society, NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research), King’s College London, University of West London.