engleski

Alzheimer disease Societies Croatia - Established 1999

In this opening lecture we will try to stress the major activities of Alzheimer Disease Societies Croatia (ADSC), since its beginnings from 1999. Our main goal, from the beginning till nowadays is the same - we want to help people with dementia (PWD), their families and careers, we fight stigma, and bring education to target and general population. Our Society doesn't have paid staff, so the whole work is done by volunteers. In our Counseling centre we have weekly meetings for families of PWD and all other interested. The ADSC has published four booklets, various leaflets, all in large number and we distributed them for free in public places. Till know our members have for numerous times spoken to media (TV, radio, newspapers) and we have organized various lectures, participate on many Meetings, Conferences and Congresses dealing with AD and dementia - all in the aim to raise awareness on dementia, and to present our work for PWD and their caregivers. Now, in year 2010 we are organizing the 5th Croatian Congress on AD with international participation and this is the biggest meeting on AD in Croatia ever. Before this jubilee-congress we have Congresses on St. Andrews Island (2008), at Brijuni (2006) and in Zagreb for two times (2004 & 2003). Beside that ADSC organized three Psychogeriatric Symposiums on island Rab, last one in 2006. We have applied for and got several projects in connection with dementia. The ADSC was given a possibility to apply to host the Alzheimer's Disease International Conference in 2010, but the final decision was done in favor of Greece. For last six years we celebrate the World Alzheimer's day (September 21st) on "Cvjetni trg" and "Jelacic plac" - two most popular squares in center of Zagreb. We have also organized the humanitarian public happenings called "Summer evenings on Zrinjevac" in which we raise some money for the ADSC. Our web-site (www.alzheimer.hr ) is rebuilt and till today we have more than 11 000 visits. On our 24-hours help-line (+385 91 569 16 60) we are receiving calls every day coming from whole Croatia, but also from Bosnia & Herzegovina and some other countries from the region. We are regularly replying to numerous letters coming through e-mail (alzheimer@xnet.hr ). Our work is also internationally recognized, so we become a full member of Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI) in 2006, and provisional member of Alzheimer Europe (AE). After 10 years of our work we finally got a nice place for our office, from the Government of Zagreb, in the center of metropolis (Vlaška 24). The place is now renovated and from the beginning of the year 2010 we are working regularly there.

Alzheimer disease

Indexed / Abstracted in: Neuroscience Citation Indeks ; EMBASE / Excerpta Medica