Thursday Three - 18 September 2025 

• Update from the AAG Tasmania Division

• Dementia literacy and awareness of risk reduction: A systematic review of South Asian and Southeast Asian regions

• International Dementia Conference 2026: Abstracts now open!

Dementia Action Week 15 to 21 September: Nobody can do it alone

Living with dementia affects not only the individual and those closest to them, but also their wider social circle. People experiencing cognitive decline often find friends and family will distance themselves, unsure of how to interact once they've received a diagnosis. This can lead to social isolation and loneliness, which can, in turn, fuel stigma and discrimination.

This Dementia Action Week, we're calling on everyone in the community to reach out and reconnect with someone impacted by dementia, because no one should face it alone.

Sign up and join the movement and find out how you can help your community become dementia-friendly today!

You can also learn more about how the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing supports people living with dementia.

Each year, AAG marks the week with a webinar or online presentation, you can view some of our past activities here. While the majority of our members focus is on the later stages of life, AAG’s life course approach it’s just as important to spotlight the early journey. This year, we’re shining a light on childhood dementia.

Update from the AAG Tasmania Division

The AAG Tasmania Division has enjoyed a dynamic start to 2025, highlighted by our Emerging Voices in Research student hybrid event held on 21 February at the Medical Science Precinct. This showcase provided an excellent platform for students, including our 2024 bursary recipients, Dr Fatemah Vazirian and Mr Zemene Demelash Kifle, who presented their work, highlighting the depth of emerging talent in the field of ageing.

A particular recognition goes to Tasmania Division Committee Student and Early Career Group (SECG) Representative, Kaylee Rudd, who not only presented her own research but also played a central role in organising the event’s international guest speaker, Dr. Christina Simonet from the Centre for Preventive Neurology, Queen Mary University of London. Dr Simonet’s presentation touched on handwriting features in isolated REM sleep behaviour disorder.

Looking ahead, October will see our division host "Science Bites," an intergenerational AAG event aligned with Seniors Week 2025 and co-badged with the University of Tasmania School of Nursing and the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre. This initiative brings together researchers from nursing, dementia, architecture, and other health fields for an engaging one-hour lunchtime lecture. Following the presentations, the audience is invited to join a casual lunch, creating opportunities for direct conversation with researchers and learning more about their work.

We are proud to support events that elevate research, celebrate achievements within our group, and strengthen connections between academia and the wider community in Tasmania. Find out more and get involved today by contacting Dr Joanna Sun, Division Committee Chair, at [email protected].

Dementia literacy and awareness of risk reduction: A systematic review of South Asian and Southeast Asian regions

In a special Dementia Action Week 2025 edition of the Australasian Journal on Ageing Research Spotlight, we highlight an urgent call to policymakers for culturally sensitive education programs that reduce stigma, raise awareness of risk factors, strengthen health-care responses, and reduce long-term burden of dementia-related health issues in South and Southeast Asia.

With contributions from AAG member and 2022 Strategic Innovation Program awardee (DARF funded), A/Professor Joyce Settie, the review article emphasises the growing public health concern for dementia in South and Southeast Asia, how dementia literacy remains poorly understood among these populations, and associated barriers to literacy and risk reduction.

International Dementia Conference 2026: Abstracts now open!

Every two years, passionate, dedicated members of the health and aged care sector gather for the International Dementia Conference, hosted by #AAGConf25 Welcome Reception partner, HammondCare, with one shared goal – to make life better for people living with dementia.

#IDC2026 will be held at the Hilton, Sydney, from 4th to 5th June 2026, and is your chance to be part of the whole story of dementia care!

Find out more and submit a paper today!

Deadline for submissions: 5:00pm AEDT, Wednesday, 22nd October 2025.