{"id":9623,"date":"2026-07-22T16:14:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T14:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interdem.org\/?p=9623"},"modified":"2026-07-22T16:14:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T14:14:13","slug":"walking-the-talk-for-dementia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/interdem.org\/?p=9623","title":{"rendered":"Walking the Talk for Dementia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Walking the Talk for Dementia: Walking Together, Seeing Differently<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve attended many academic conferences over the years. Most last four or five days, and by the end I usually remember only a handful of names and the topics those people worked on. Walking the Talk for Dementia was the first event where I left remembering every single person, not just their names, but the people behind them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Walking the Talk for Dementia wasn’t simply an academic event. It brought together people living with dementia, care partners, researchers, clinicians, advocates, and artists. Everyone arrived with different expertise, different experiences, and different stories. For six days, those perspectives didn’t exist in separate sessions; instead, they walked alongside one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During four days of walking, I had conversations with people from 35 different countries, each offering a unique way of understanding dementia. Some conversations focused on research, others on clinical practice, advocacy, art, caregiving, or the lived experience of dementia itself. Every morning started with breakfast, but breakfast was much more than a meal. It became a place where ideas, experiences, and stories were exchanged long before the day’s activities officially began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then we started walking, and that was when the real learning began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we walked, conversations unfolded naturally. Sometimes we discussed the research we had just heard about. Sometimes we talked about how dementia care differs across countries, how communities can become more inclusive, or what it actually feels like to live with dementia or to support someone who does. When we got on the bus, there were always two options: continue the conversations or quietly read the articles related to the day’s topic. By the time we arrived at the next destination, new questions and often new ideas had already emerged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rhythm of the week became beautifully simple: walk, learn, discuss, reflect, write, and repeat. That rhythm created something I had never experienced at a conference. Every conversation challenged my perspective in a different way. Researchers helped me think about new questions, clinicians shared practical realities, advocates highlighted the importance of changing systems, artists encouraged me to think creatively about communication, care partners offered insights that no academic paper could capture, and people living with dementia reminded me that lived experience is a form of expertise in its own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In only two days, I had already developed two new research ideas, including one focusing on dementia-related stigma. But more importantly, those ideas were shaped not only by academic discussions but also by the voices of people with lived experience and by conversations that crossed professional boundaries. I also found potential collaborators from countries I have never visited. Through the people I met, I was introduced to many others beyond the event itself. It felt as though both my professional network and my understanding of dementia had expanded simultaneously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along the way, we were never alone. A support team travelled with us throughout the walk, including an ambulance, a support vehicle, and a truck full of delicious snacks and water, making sure everyone felt safe and cared for. Some of my favourite memories were not academic at all: singing songs together at dinner, celebrating birthdays, laughing during the walk, and sharing countless small moments that gradually turned strangers into friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final two days were dedicated to the symposium. Listening to presentations from people I’d already spent days walking alongside felt nothing like attending a traditional conference; their talks carried more weight now, because I understood the motivations and experiences behind them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the end of the week, I didn’t just know what people did. I knew their walking pace and their favourite songs, their dietary needs and allergies, the stories they carried, the communities they came from, and what dementia care actually looked like in those communities. Walking together reminded me that meaningful collaboration begins when we stop seeing people through a single role and start seeing them as whole human beings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Challenging My Own Assumptions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve been researching dementia for almost six years. Before Walking the Talk for Dementia, I believed that spending years in this field meant I had already challenged most of my own assumptions and misconceptions about dementia. I was wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the week, I realised that many of my assumptions were so subtle that I hadn’t even recognised them as assumptions. They weren’t rooted in a lack of knowledge or good intentions, but in the ways society quietly shapes how we think about dementia, independence, and ability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The experience reminded me that misconceptions and low expectations can exist in many forms, even among those of us who work in dementia research, care, or advocacy. Learning about dementia is not a one-time achievement; it is an ongoing process of questioning what we think we know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coming from a culture where caring for older adults is a fundamental responsibility, I realised that love can sometimes unintentionally reduce independence. We do things for people instead of creating space for them to do things themselves. Walking the Talk for Dementia showed me what becomes possible when people are given the right environment, support, and opportunities to participate. It reminded me that ability often flourishes when we stop focusing on limitations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watching people living with dementia actively shape conversations, challenge ideas, support one another, make decisions, and simply enjoy the journey was one of the most powerful lessons of the week. To everyone who shared their lived experience throughout the week \u2014 thank you. Your openness challenged my assumptions more than any paper, lecture, or workshop ever could. You reminded me that learning begins when we are willing to listen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why I Think Every INTERDEM Academy Member Should Experience Walking the Talk for Dementia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reflecting on the week, I found myself thinking about the INTERDEM Academy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As early-career researchers, we spend years learning research methods, designing studies, analysing data, and presenting findings. These are essential skills. But Walking the Talk for Dementia develops something equally important: the ability to understand dementia through multiple perspectives at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the event, I learned not only from researchers, but also from people living with dementia, care partners, clinicians, advocates, and artists. Those conversations challenged assumptions that I didn’t even realise I still held, and reminded me that lived experience is not something to be added to research. It is a form of expertise that should help shape research from the very beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For researchers committed to improving the lives of people living with dementia, experiences like Walking the Talk for Dementia are much more than professional development. They bridge the gap between evidence and everyday life, between academic knowledge and lived experience. They remind us that the most meaningful research begins by listening, walking alongside people, and understanding realities that cannot always be captured in journal articles or conference presentations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experiences like Walking the Talk for Dementia are an invaluable part of that journey to develop the next generation of dementia researchers. They don’t just help us become better researchers, they help us become better collaborators, better listeners, and better partners with the people our research is ultimately intended to benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walking the Talk for Dementia was far more than a walk. It was a reminder that if we truly want to change dementia research and care, we first need to walk alongside the people whose lives we hope to improve. Because ultimately, the future of dementia research depends not only on the questions we ask, but also on whose voices help us ask them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Aysegul Humeyra Kafadar<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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