International dementia awards in Australia for the first time

Registrations are now open for the awards, organised by the University of Stirling’s UK Dementia Services Development Centre, and will be presented at an awards night at Darling Harbour, Sydney on June 28.

The awards are a unique chance for the dementia support efforts of Australian individuals and organisations to be recognised at an international level. Previous Australian winners include Royal Hobart Hospital Emergency Department for its dementia-specific Neil Williams Unit (Design Innovation) and HammondCare for its cottage design with kitchens (Pleasure of Eating).

This year’s IDEAs include three Australian-specific awards, covering team of the year, employee of the year and volunteer of the year. The Risky Business award highlights the risks often taken to ensure quality of life for people with dementia. (Full award category listing and description - below).

The awards will be presented at a drinks and canapé presentation night on June 28 from 6.15pm to coincide with the Risky Business - International Dementia Conference, Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour.

Nominations are now open online at www.ideawards2012.com and can reflect small and large-scale dementia care activities from across the globe.

The international judging panel includes Prof June Andrews, Australian dementia advocate Sue Pieters-Hawke, Dr Marie-Jo Guisset Martinez of Fondation Médéric Alzheimer, France, and the CEO of Alzheimer’s Australia, Glenn Rees.

The Risky Business conference on June 28-29 is presented by the International Dementia Partnership which includes the UK Dementia Services Development Centre and HammondCare’s Dementia Centre, based in Sydney (more details below).

Both the IDEAs and Risky Business conference are aimed at all those who support people with dementia, including doctors, nurses, social workers, allied health professionals, service commissioners, inspectors, planners/architects, paramedics, housing organisations, the police, faith leaders, voluntary and private sector staff and people with dementia. For more information about the conference please visit http://dementiaconference.com/

The categories

Nominations for the following categories are now being invited:

1. Dementia and the Arts: This award will recognise art work created by a group or individual with dementia or that represents people with dementia positively in art forms created by people without dementia using all artistic mediums, including painting, film, drama, documentaries or photography.

2. Life Engagement: This award will recognise work undertaken by others to establish meaningful activities for an individual or group of people with dementia. This can be a one off or on-going activity. The activity must have taken place in the time period 1st January 2010 to 23 April 2012. Nominations in this category should demonstrate that their work has allowed individual recognition of the person and their interests and should not be traditional models of imposed group activity.

3. Employee of the Year: This award will be given to an individual who has gone the extra mile, who simply gets on with the job or whose personal commitment has always shone through. Although this person may feel that they have only been doing their job, to others they will have genuinely made a difference. (Australia only)

4. Team of the Year: The team of the year could come from any service that supports people with dementia. Applicants for the team award must demonstrate that they have enhanced the quality of services received by people with dementia. (Australia only)

5. Volunteer of the Year: This award recognises an individual who has made a considerable difference to the lives of people with dementia through giving freely of their time and commitment. Nominees could include volunteers in day services, the treasurer of a support committee or a fundraiser. (Australia only)

6. Researcher(s) of the Year: This award will recognise clinical or practice based research that has or will inform and shape positive outcomes for people with dementia and their carers. This research must have produced its findings in the time period 1st January 2010 to 23 April 2012.

7. Dementia Design Innovation of the Year: This award will recognise a communal or private setting used by people with dementia that demonstrates dementia-friendly design. Nominations for this award can come from care homes, architects, hospitals, housing services or day centres and may include gardens or other spaces that demonstrate positive environmental design. This work must have taken place between January 2007 and 23 April 2012.

8. Risky Business: This award is an open category. It draws its inspiration from the theme of our conference Risky Business: Facing up to Dementia. Nominations can address how through their intervention a risk has been taken by or for someone with dementia. Through the endeavours this should have improved the live of an individual or the lives of people with dementia more broadly. The overall requirement is to inspire and challenge the panel.