[Music plays and text appears: National Awards for Local Government. Kiama Dementia Friendly Project, Kiama Municipal Council, NSW, Disability Access and Inclusion. Category Winner]
[Image changes to show Nick Guggisberg, Kiama Dementia Friendly Project, Kiama Municipal Council, NSW]
Millions upon millions of people already live with dementia, but in many regards we are still approaching the issue of dementia.
[Image changes to show a group of people standing together with linked arms]
There is a global movement to try and build dementia friendly communities, which really means communities that have both a physical environment and a social environment that support people with dementia to participate in community life.
[Pictures of different groups of people flash by on screen and then moves back to show Nick seated and talking to the camera]
We"ve been running a lot of community education sessions, both in terms of just putting on some training sessions about general awareness about dementia,
[Image changes to show a crowd of people seated in rows of chairs facing a group of people who are on a stage addressing them]
about how you can support an individual who has dementia.
It appears the most valuable part of our project is the involvement of people with dementia at the heart of the project.
[Image changes to show a group photograph and then moves back to show Nick seated and talking to the camera]
We need to move away from this model where the professionals have all the answers, because we"re addressing the social in particular, and you know it's people with dementia who know what they need and what's going to support them.
[Image changes to show the camera panning over the Dementia Friendly Kiama publication]
A recent publication by Alzheimer's Disease International has a quote where the Dementia Alliance International is nominating Kiama as the gold star globally in doing this work.
[Image changes back to show Nick standing with a group of people and moves back to show Nick seated and talking to the camera]
We"ve been the facilitators, we haven"t been the drivers. We"ve worked with our local Advisory Group, and with our partners, whether they be organisations, residents; let them identify what is important and then we support pursuing that.
[Image changes to show Nick addressing a crowd of people]
Our goal has been to really lift that awareness of dementia, and the various pathways that people can travel to access both information, but support.
[Image has changed back to show Nick seated and talking to the camera]
And to have this national award, to be able to say, “See, we are doing great work,” it's not just about Council, it's about our community.
[Music plays and text appears: National Awards for Local Government. Kiama Dementia Friendly Project, Kiama Municipal Council, NSW, Disability Access and Inclusion. Category Winner]