'Happy Dementia-Friendly Society'... The 15th Dementia Overcoming Day Commemoration Ceremony Held

Ministry of Health and Welfare and Central Dementia Center Hold Commemoration Ceremony
Individual Events Also Held at 17 Regional Dementia Centers

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] On the 21st, a commemorative event was held to mark Dementia Overcoming Day.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare, together with the Central Dementia Center, held the 15th Dementia Overcoming Day ceremony at COEX in Seoul. Dementia Overcoming Day was designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1995 in collaboration with the International Alzheimer’s Association (ADI) to raise new awareness about dementia patient care.

The theme of this year’s ceremony is "Warm Companionship, a Dementia-Friendly Society Where Everyone is Happy." The event began with a choir performance by the "Nosonoso Choir," composed of dementia patients and children, followed by awards for dementia overcoming contributors, screening of dementia awareness improvement videos, and a musical performance based on stories of dementia families.

At the ceremony, the Ministry of Health and Welfare awarded 12 government honors and 141 ministerial citations to individuals and groups. Professor Choi Jin-young of Seoul National University’s Department of Psychology received the Order of Service Merit for contributions to research, development, and education for dementia assessment and preventive approaches.

The Presidential Citation was awarded to Yang Dong-won, Director of the Dementia Safety Center in Mapo-gu, Seoul, and the Prime Minister’s Citation went to Kim Ji-eun, General Team Leader of the Dementia Safety Center in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. The Hoseo Welfare Foundation’s Hyoja House received the Presidential Citation as an organization. Awards were also presented to winners of the "2022 Dementia Overcoming Hope Essay Contest" hosted by the Central Dementia Center in July.

In addition, commemorative ceremonies and weekly events for Dementia Overcoming Day were held at 17 metropolitan dementia centers nationwide, including Busan, Daegu, and Jeju. Various regional events such as a non-face-to-face walking event (Seoul) and screening of dementia awareness improvement documentary films (Gangwon Province) are planned.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has implemented policies to enable dementia patients to continue living in their communities, including strengthening dementia safety centers, expanding dementia care and treatment infrastructure, and creating dementia-friendly environments. Currently, about 500,000 dementia patients are registered at 256 dementia safety centers nationwide.

Furthermore, the ministry is expanding public dementia-specialized elderly care facilities and dementia-specialized hospital wards, and is promoting the construction of dementia-specialized facilities in areas without public elderly care facilities.

Choi Jong-gyun, Director of the Population Policy Office at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, stated at the ceremony, "We will do our best to support dementia patients to live their daily lives with protection and respect where they have lived, and to create a dementia-friendly social environment where dementia families can live without burden."

Ko Im-seok, Director of the Central Dementia Center, said, "The Central Dementia Center will continue various efforts to realize a dementia-friendly society."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.