PUT YOURSELF

In the arena

Theodore Roosevelt famously praised the person in the arena - the one 'doing the deed', striving valiantly, who may make mistakes, but who gets up and continues the fight.

The International Dementia Conference 2024 will give a platform to those who are bold enough to 'dare greatly' in the difficult arena of complex dementia, palliative care and positive ageing.

We're looking for the innovators, the boundary pushers, the people dealing day by day with the realities of dementia, and who are taking action in response.

These themes are a guide only and you are welcome to submit any topic that you feel may be relevant. If it doesn’t fit in any of these sections, select 'Something else'!

Lived Experience

Papers from people living with dementia and their carers are an important part of the conference. We invite you to share your experience, views, writings, and projects – there are no limits to the topics for discussion. We encourage submissions that represent your different and individual experiences, cultures, ages, and backgrounds.

Innovation in Home Care

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Innovation in Residential Care

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Innovation in Acute Care

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End of life and Palliative Care

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Governance and Regulation

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Equity, Access and Diversity

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Technology

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Design and the environment

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Food Culture

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Intimacy and Sexuality

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Learning

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Engagement and Re-ablement

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Spiritual and Pastoral Care

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NDIS and Younger Onset Dementia

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Workforce

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First Nations

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Something else? Tell us what you're doing!

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BECOME A

Sponsor

Platinum sponsor

$40,000 (1 opportunity)


  • 6m x 3m stand to be selected at time of booking (location to be discussed)
  • Company logo and profile will appear in sponsors’ section in the official conference program and website along with a direct link to your website
  • Company logo on main stage and on promotional material (printed and online)
  • Rotational logo banner on conference app
  • 2 social media posts across all channels promoting your company as platinum sponsor
  • Logo on conference website
  • Logo on conference delegate bag
  • 1 satchel insert in delegate bags
  • Full access to delegates during catering breaks
  • Chair a concurrent session
  • Sponsorship of our exclusive executive dinner
  • 6 x full conference registrations including networking drinks and 4 x tickets to executive dinner

Gold sponsor

$30,000 (2 opportunities)


  • 3m x 3m stand to be selected at time of booking (choice of premium location on level 3)
  • Company logo and profile will appear in sponsors’ section in the official conference program and website along with a direct link to your website
  • Company logo on main stage and on promotional material (printed and online)
  • 2 social media posts across all channels promoting your company as gold sponsor
  • Full access to delegates during catering breaks
  • Exclusive branded item (choose between branded water bottles or lanyards – subject to availability)
  • 4 x full conference registrations including networking drinks and 2 tickets to executive dinner

Silver sponsor

$18,000 (2 opportunities)


  • 3m x 3m stand to be selected at time of booking (choice of premium location on level 4)
  • Company logo and profile will appear in sponsors’ section in the official conference program and website along with a direct link to your website
  • Company logo on pre-conference and on day promotional material (printed and online)
  • 1 social media post across all channels promoting your company as silver sponsor
  • Full access to delegates during catering breaks
  • Exclusive sponsor opportunity (choose between branded registration and name tag stations or branded snack station – subject to availability)
  • 2 x full conference registrations including networking drinks and 1 ticket to executive dinner

Destination sponsor – Refuel Me

$20,000 (1 opportunity)


  • Allocated floor space to utilise on level 4 with display TV
  • Company logo and profile will appear in sponsors’ section in the official conference program and website along with a direct link to your website
  • Full access to delegates during catering breaks
  • Post on conference app each day during breaks to guide delegates to your area
  • Branded Refuel Me station including juice shots station, recharge station and massage area with staff
  • 4 x full conference registrations inclusive of networking drinks

Social sponsor

$20,000 (2 opportunity)


  • Private networking space in Zeta Bar
  • 3-minute sponsor welcome at the start of the event (no presentation or visual aids available)
  • Acknowledgement as a sponsor by the conference MC
  • Company logo and profile will appear in sponsors’ section in the official conference program and website along with a direct link to your website
  • Full access to delegates during networking session
  • Theming of space and ability to advertise services
  • 2 social media posts across all channels promoting the sponsorship of this event and marketing of this event
  • 4 x full conference registrations inclusive of networking drinks

Coffee sponsor

$10,000 (1 opportunity)


Reach hundreds of attendees by having your company name at the exclusive barista-run coffee station. Barista-made coffee will be available free of charge to all delegates in breaks throughout the conference. The coffee station will be located just outside the main entrance to the conference where all delegates will pass. Coffee, standard single-use coffee cups and barista supplied by conference organisers.

  • Company logo on coffee cups (one colour print)
  • 2 x pull up banners displayed next to coffee station (sponsor to supply)

Recharge station sponsor

$10,000 (1 opportunity)


This is the go-to place for our delegates to recharge their devices. You’ll be highly visible when you have your company name at the exclusive recharge station, showcasing what you have to offer!

  • Company logo on 3 recharge stations (artwork to be supplied by sponsor)
  • 1 x pull up banners displayed next to recharge station (sponsor to supply)
  • Free-standing TV screen provided near the coffee station for your sole use to increase your brand presence and promote your business products and services (sponsor to provide content)
  • Company logo and profile will appear in sponsors’ section in the official conference program and website along with a direct link to your website
  • 2 x full conference registrations

Satchel “Take Note” sponsor

$7,000 (1 opportunity)


With such an amazing line-up of speakers, our delegates will want to take notes. Your brand will be the first thing they see each time they open their notebook. Each attendee will receive a notebook and pen in their delegate satchels upon arrival. You are responsible for providing the printed notepads (must be a minimum of A4 size with cardboard backing) and pens.

  • Company logo and profile will appear in sponsors section in the official conference program and website along with a direct link to your website
  • 2 x full conference registrations

Seat drop sponsor

$3,800 (2 opportunities)


This opportunity provides direct access to our delegates – make it a memorable seat drop with key information about your company! A strategic seat drop is a great way to have your company branded material get noticed by the delegates during the plenary sessions at the conference. We will distribute your material on attendees’ seats at a designated time during the event.

  • Conference organisers will distribute 1 x printed material on attendee seats on your company’s behalf, one time only during the conference plenary sessions. Sponsor to provide material.
  • Company logo and profile will appear in sponsors’ section in the official conference program and website along with a direct link to your website
  • 2 available – day 1 and day 2 opening
  • Discounted registration fee for up to 2 registrations – 20% off

Satchel insert

$3,400 (5 opportunities)


A great option to promote your products and services without the need for a physical presence at the conference. As this is an extremely popular opportunity, the limit is set at only five inserts.  

  • Inclusion of one item in the official conference bag (sponsor to provide, subject to approval). Merchandise is preferred – delegates love to get something tangible.
  • Discounted registration fee for up to 2 registrations – 20% off

**All inserts must be ready for delivery to HammondCare by mid-August 2024.

Video ad break - plenary room

$5,000


It will be all eyes on your business video when delegates return from breaks to the plenary room. Video length max 3 min (2 available).

  • Standalone video played in the plenary room
  • Sponsor to provide the video content

Video ad break - concurrent rooms

$5,000 (1 opportunity)


A great way to showcase your business to delegates as they enter the concurrent room. Video length max 3 min (2 available).

  • Standalone video played in the plenary room
  • Sponsor to provide the video content

Exhibition and Sponsorship Prospectus

Explore the program

Registering now? Choose your concurrent session here.

Choose a category:
  1. 8:50am

    Welcome

    MC
    Leigh Sales AM
    ABC Journalist and Author
    Welcome, housekeeping and Acknowledgement of Country
  2. 9:15am

    Government policy update

    Speaker
    The Hon Anika Wells MP
    Federal Minister for Aged Care
  3. 9:30am

    Striving to shatter the stereotype – a conversation about media representation

    Panel
    Prof John Swinton · Bill Yeates · Gwenda Darling
    Panel facilitator: Prof John Swinton

    Veering from the twee and sentimental to the sensationalised and despairing, representations of dementia in mainstream media are – at their worst – dehumanising for people living with dementia and increase fear, misunderstanding or discrimination in the wider community. Equally, sensitive and accurate portrayals shape a more realistic view among the public, showing that people can live full, satisfying lives with dementia, and can help remove the stigma of the condition. 

    Our panel will feature the voices of people impacted by dementia, who will share their thoughts on mainstream representation and what needs to change. Our hope is that their voices will be at the centre of future discourse so as to inform public debate, shape policy and help design the services they need, with the media acting to amplify their stories and, ultimately, hold organisations, care providers, governments and society to account. 

  4. 10:05am

    The dementia arena, today and tomorrow

    Speaker
    Dr Tom Russ
    Director, Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre

    Scottish dementia researcher and psychiatrist Dr Tom Russ will set the tone for IDC2024 by providing us with an insight into the latest treatment advances in the dementia arena.

    Far from the hype and distraction of media stories, Tom will present a wide-ranging clinical update on promising approaches and proven treatments for different forms of dementia, bringing us from the present to the methods and supports of the future.

    Join us as we discover how treatments will evolve over the coming decades, and what impact they could have on the global community who live with dementia.

  5. 10:30am

    Morning tea
  6. 11:05am

    Something has to change – policy, regulation and care in the Canadian arena

    Speaker
    Dr Samir Sinha
    Director of Geriatrics, Sinai Health System

    During the Covid pandemic, Canada sadly led the world in deaths in long term care. This started a national movement to change the system. As one of Canada’s most influential voices for older people, with decades of experience in policy development, Samir has been hands-on at both the care coalface (as Director of Geriatrics of the Sinai Health System) and as a member of various senior government advisory groups.

    At IDC2024, Samir will seek to untangle some of the challenges faced in both the Australian and Canadian regulatory systems and provide suggestions for a way forward.

    Addressing some of the complexities driven by staff pay inequities and risk management, as well as data collection and procedural requirements that can descend into perfunctory, tick-a-box care, he’ll cast a vision for a future that treats high-quality staff as an unequivocal priority, allowing care providers to treat patients as whole human beings.

  7. 11:50am

    First on scene - first responder viewpoints

    Panel
    Lindsay Bent · Scott Duval · Julane Bowen · Dr Guruprasad Nagaraj · Marie Alford
    Panel facilitator: Marie Alford

    Without a doubt, no one wants to be in the position of requesting or requiring an emergency services response, either at home or in care. The sights and sounds of emergency vehicles and personnel can be overwhelming for anyone – how much more so for people living with dementia?

    However, it can be a necessary call out for a range of reasons, so how emergency services respond to people with dementia is vitally important. But dementia awareness and training are not commonplace, and we know the outcomes when things go wrong. We also know that emergency services and response personnel want the best for the people they serve.

    Let’s talk about being first on scene – how can we do better and how can the sector offer better support? With representatives from Vic Ambulance, Australian Police and an emergency department doctor, as well as the experience from a carer's side.

  8. 12:35pm

    Lunch
  9. 1:45pm

    Day 1 concurrent sessions

    Concurrent
  10. 3:15pm

    Afternoon tea
  11. 3:45pm

    Sex on the brain – the battleground of consent, privacy and personal rights

    Speaker
    Dr Nathalie Huitema
    Sexologist and Psychologist

    There is hardly a topic in aged care more sensitive than that of sex and intimacy. Behaviour considered quite normal in society can, in a residential aged care setting, come to be categorised as abnormal, unacceptable, or even deviant. Meanwhile, the presence of cognitive impairment brings its own complications.

    The resulting ethical and legislative grey areas abound: what do families have a right to know about? How does consent operate for people living with dementia? Is there ever a need to intervene physically or chemically, and if so, when? How has reporting regulation changed the culture of support, and how can staff approach the matter without impinging on privacy and personal rights?

    Sexologist and psychologist Dr Nathalie Huitema will provide an introduction to the topic, leading in to the panel session straight afterwards.

  12. 4:05pm

    Sex on the brain – panel discussion

    Panel
    Dr Nathalie Huitema · Gwenda Darling · Olga Pandos · Ashley Roberts
    Panel facilitator: Leigh Sales AM

    Following the challenges laid down by Dr Nathalie Huitema's plenary talk, she will join our other expert panellists and those with lived experience of dementia as they discuss the topic further.

    Our panel will explore the complex terrain of intimacy, consent, and the parameters of normal sexual behaviour, within the context of the regulatory framework. They’ll cover ideas like inappropriate labelling, infringement of rights, as well as the kind of training that would benefit care staff.

  13. 5:15pm

    Networking event

    Networking
    Your chance to network with industry peers
    Join us and connect with delegates at Zeta Bar, Level 4, Hilton Sydney
     
    This is an optional event and the price to attend is $110.
     
    You will be able to select this as an option as you go through the event registration process.
  1. 8:50am

    Welcome

    MC
    Leigh Sales AM
    ABC Journalist and Author
    Welcome and housekeeping
  2. 9:00am

    Speaker
    Senator Anne Ruston
    Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care
  3. 9:15am

    Expanding your palliative dementia care toolkit

    Speaker
    Dr Nathan Davies
    Professor of Ageing, Applied Health and Care Research, Queen Mary University of London

    For a range of reasons, people living with dementia don’t always receive the best end-of-life care and don’t always have access to palliative care. Many health professionals do not feel confident making decisions about care for someone with dementia as they approach the end of their life, and family carers often feel overwhelmed.

    In some countries, a lack of integration of health and social care can exacerbate the problem, and often it is people with dementia who are most disadvantaged.

    Nathan will bring his long experience in the palliative dementia space to bear on the challenges of complex care decisions, providing practical approaches and resources that can provide a way forward. He will share decision-support tools co-designed with people living with dementia, which aim to support holistic assessment and decision-making in community and aged care facilities.

  4. 9:40am

    Palliative care in the age of voluntary assisted dying

    Panel
    Dr Nathan Davies · Dr Melanie Tan · Sarah Mitchell · Dr Emma Hodges
    Panel facilitator: Leigh Sales AM

    As voluntary assisted dying laws are gradually introduced all over the world, the option to choose to end your own life has moved from the fringes into the mainstream. As a result, the question of how good palliative care can meet the needs of people facing a terminal diagnosis has never been more relevant.

    In this panel, Dr Nathan Davies, an internationally renowned expert in palliative dementia care, will kick off the discussion about this difficult and sometimes heated topic. We’ll also hear from a family member of someone who lived with dementia.

    You’ll hear about what needs to improve in palliative care to ensure that people, wherever they live, have access to a good death, and why legislative instruments should reflect the diversity of capacity to make decisions at the end of life.

  5. 10:35am

    Morning tea
  6. 11:05am

    Future fit - a household model of residential care for tomorrow

    Panel
    Martin Rix · Nicole Smith · Angela Raguz · Nick Seemann
    Panel facilitator: Angela Raguz

    The household model is now identified as one of the best practice options in residential dementia care, but the idea that smaller is better has a natural consequence – how much smaller can we, or should we, go? Can people with complex dementia live alone? Should they? How could we support them? Do small homes work for everybody? What are the implications of pushing the model to the extreme? 

    Our panel will look at these issues, as well as the financial and staffing considerations implicit in a future where more personalised and tailored dementia care becomes the rule rather than the exception. For example, how sustainable it would be for organisations to care for people with dementia living in smaller units, and could the answer be…robots?

  7. 11:45am

    Being at home with complex dementia – do we stumble or thrive?

    Panel
    Dr Samir Sinha · Dr Tom Russ · Dr Tim Henwood · Luke Campbell
    Panel facilitator: Leigh Sales AM

    Remaining in our own home for as long as possible is – according to reports – what most of us desire. But what happens when we have complex dementia? What would the services of the future need to look like to support us?

    The traditional day centre model, which draws people to one place with a set schedule of activities, is today being challenged by a vision that sees people connecting out into the community, taking part in activities in a range of settings, and even ticking adventures off their bucket list.

    This discussion will focus on what elements are needed to for people to be at home and active in their communities for longer, and asks the hard question of whether our day and home care services in Australia and internationally are shaped to support this.

  8. 12:35pm

    Lunch
  9. 1:40pm

    Day 2 concurrent sessions

    Concurrent
  10. 3:10pm

    Afternoon tea
  11. 3:30pm

    Launch of Dementia in the Commonwealth Report

    Launch
    Dr Emma Hodges · Linda Justin
    From Malaysia to Mauritius, New Zealand to Namibia - across the Commonwealth - there are a range of approaches to improve the wellbeing of those living with dementia. IDC2024 is privileged to host the launch of the CommonAge Dementia in the Commonwealth report, which gives an insight into these practices. The hope is that the examples shared in the report provide ideas, solutions and approaches that can be adopted or adapted in a culturally sensitive way.
  12. 3:40pm

    Being present

    Speaker
    Prof John Swinton
    Author and Theologian, University of Aberdeen

    What does it mean truly to be present with people living with advanced dementia?

    To be present with them is quite different to merely being in a room with them. It requires us to recognise them as fully human people who have needs and loves in the same way as everyone else does.

    A failure to see the person in front of us in a meaningful way can lead to abusive behaviour, disrespect and poor, loveless care.

    Join John as he discusses how we can maintain genuine presence, within a culture that often pushes us to be absent from one another.

  13. 4:20pm

    Beverages, banter & bon voyage

    Networking
  14. 5:00pm

    Close

  1. SOLD OUT

    Wednesday 4 September, 9:00-11:30am

    Dementia Cottage Tour

    Tour
    Tour a purpose-built dementia cottage at HammondCare Miranda

    See dementia design in practice and learn how good design can impact quality of life for people living with dementia. You will also gain an understanding of the National Aged Care Design Principles and Guidelines.

    This is an optional event and the price to attend is $320.

    You will be able to select this as an option as you go through the event registration process.

  2. SOLD OUT

    Wednesday 4 September, 1:00-3:30pm

    Dementia Cottage Tour

    Tour
    Tour a purpose-built dementia cottage at HammondCare Miranda

    See dementia design in practice and learn how good design can impact quality of life for people living with dementia. You will also gain an understanding of the National Aged Care Design Principles and Guidelines.

    This is an optional event and the price to attend is $320.

    You will be able to select this as an option as you go through the event registration process.

  3. Thursday 5 September, 5:15pm

    Networking event

    Networking
    Your chance to network with industry peers
    Join us and connect with delegates at Zeta Bar, Level 4, Hilton Sydney
     
    This is an optional event and the price to attend is $110.
     
    You will be able to select this as an option as you go through the event registration process.
  4. SOLD OUT

    Friday 6 September, 7:45-8:45am

    Interactive Symposium: Aged Care Reforms and Dementia

    Breakfast
    Emily Harper · Marie Alford · Bill Yeates · Megan Cox
    Hosted by the Department of Health and Aged Care

    Join us for breakfast at this free, interactive event.

    Reserve your place early as space is limited. You will be able to select this as an option as you go through the event registration process.

Please note that the program is still in development and may be subject to change.

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