In five articles on LinkedIn, partner organisations involved in the Memorable project have shared the key outcomes of their national project work, reflecting on how cultural participation can enhance well-being, social inclusion, and visibility for people living with dementia.
The article written by the Bulgarian project partner highlights the strong potential of cultural activities in fostering participation and emotional connection. However, it also points to the lack of structural support and targeted training needed to make such approaches sustainable.
The article about Portugal frames dementia as a growing societal challenge, demonstrating that cultural inclusion can only succeed if barriers relating to access, awareness, and infrastructure are systematically addressed.
The article published by the German partner summarises the main findings of their Memorable project activities, emphasising that cultural participation can enhance identity, social engagement, and quality of life for people with dementia.
The Dutch partners emphasise the close link between culture and wellbeing in their article, demonstrating that dementia-friendly cultural practice requires flexibility, awareness-raising and strong institutional cooperation. Finally, the Irish article illustrates how dementia-friendly cultural programmes in museums, libraries, and community arts spaces can support communication, belonging, and meaningful social interaction for people living with dementia and their carers.
A shared way forward
All five articles convey a common message: cultural participation is a key element of quality of life and social inclusion for people living with dementia. At the same time, joint efforts are needed to remove barriers and create more inclusive cultural offerings. These contributions are encouraging. They present concrete local perspectives and emphasise the importance of translating these experiences into shared learning formats, training opportunities and resources — exactly what the Memorable consortium is currently developing.
The articles can be found here:
- Dementia-Friendly Cultural Participation in Bulgaria: Findings and Future Directions from the MEMORABLE National Report
- Culture, Wellbeing, and Dementia in the Netherlands: Insights from the Memorable National Report
- Dementia and Cultural Inclusion in Portugal
- Important findings from the Memorable research activities in Germany
- Insights and Future Directions from the MEMORABLE National Report
