Past Events

The WDC Roundtable at the 1st Cognitive Neurology Conference focused on what it takes to move from scientific progress to implementation within health systems. As new diagnostics and treatments came to market in India participants considered the practical challenges of delivering timely diagnosis and treatments and how strategies need to be adapted to local infrastructure, workforce capacity, and health priorities.

Chaired by Dr Howard Fillit, Chief Science Officer Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Fund and Dr Stacie Weninger President of FBRI, this virtual dialogue will explore the different experiences, and the lessons from that, of companies and funders innovating in the biomarker field. With opening remarks from Randall Bateman, Charlotte Teunissen, Michael Weiner and Henrik Zetterberg followed by a roundtable discussion for all participants in the dialogue.

As part of the Alzheimer Europe Conference in Bologna, 6–8 October, the World Dementia Council will host a panel discussion on advancing advocacy in an era of treatments. Taking place on Tuesday 7 October, the session will build on conversations from AAIC about how we move from discovery to delivery. It will explore three critical priorities: implementing brain health strategies, translating diagnostics and treatments into routine care, and reshaping the public narrative around dementia.

The World Dementia Council is hosting a dinner in New York during UNGA to kick off a new programme on brain health. The Council will launch a year-long series exploring how to drive public-policy advances on brain health worldwide.

This virtual dialogue on 16 September will explore the early lessons from the implementation of diagnostics and treatments in clinical settings and the implications for countries like India. Chaired by Dr Heather M. Snyder, is senior vice president, Medical & Scientific Relations, at the Alzheimer’s Association and Professor Suvarna Alladi, Professor of Neurology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore. 

The breakfast discussion, on where now for advocacy, is chaired by Dr Joanne Pike, President and CEO of Alzheimer's Association and Chair of World Dementia Council. There will be opening contributions from Lenny Shallcross, Dr Rebecca Edelmayer, Professor Donna Wilcocks, Robert Egge, Dr Fiona Carragher and Professor Lea Grinberg. The opening contriutions will be followed by a roundtable discussion for all particpants at the breakfast meeting.  

This virtual dialogue on 8 July 2025 will explore the opportunties and challenges of brain health and prevention. The opportunities to advance prevention in India and the lessons that can be drawn from global experience. It is chaired by Professor Suvarna Alladi, Professor of Neurology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, and Professor Miia Kivipelto, Professor in Clinical Geriatrics at Karolinska Institutet.

The 2025 Satellite Summit took place in Lima, Peru on May 13 2025. The meeting brought together stakeholders from across the region and beyond and focussed on the public policy landscape in Latin America and the Caribbean and asked across research, prevention, awareness and care how we make advances.  

This dialogue on 25 April 2025 brought together expert voices from across the Caribbean and diaspora to explore how to build policy momentum, raise public awareness, and drive system-level change in response to the Caribbean’s growing dementia burden. The meeting was chaired by Dr Ishtar Govia Founder & CEO of Amagi and Dr Horace Cox Acting Director of Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control at the Caribbean Public Health Agency

The 2025 Summit takes place in London on 25 March 2025. The Summit will have parallel strands on disrupting the science: accelerating innovation in prevention, diagnosis and treatments, and a second stand on disrupting the system: building the future health system. The meeting brings together policy makers, academics, industry and avocates and will focus on how to accelerate innovation and deliver change. 

Chaired by Dr Joanne Pike, CEO and President of Alzheimer's Association, and George Vradenburg, Chair Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative, this virtual meeting will explore the lessons for advocacy movements from new treatments for Alzheimer's. With opening remarks from Robert Egge, Chief Public Policy Officer Alzheimer's Association, Fiona Carragher, Chief Policy and Research Officer Alzheimer's Society, and Jean Georges, Executive Director at Alzheimer's Europe. 

This diagloue will be chaired by Dr Ana Luisa Sosa, National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Mexico, with opening presentations from Dr Daisy Acosta, Associate Professor at Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Urena, Dominican Republic, and Dr David Aguillon, University of Antioquia, Colombia.

Chaired by Dr Maria Carrillo and Professor Philip Scheltens this virtual meeting will bring together international experts to explore early lessons from the delivery of treatments to patients who have a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. There will be opening remarks from Professor Gil Rabinovici, Professor Reisa Sperling and Professor Donna Wilcock with reflections from Dr Cath Mummey. 

A high-level virtual roundtable on dementia research and clinical trials in Latin America and the Caribbean. There will be opening presentations from Dr Gustavo Sevlever, Director of Education and Research of the Fleni Institute and Dr Sylvia Josephy Hernandez, Department of Neurology CCSS Costa Rica followed by a roundtable discussion. The discussion will be chaired by Dr Claudia Duran-Aniotz, Assistant Professor, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Chile. 

This high-level academic conference for clinicians, academics and industry professionals working in China with international experts participating is being co-convened by the World Dementia Council. The summit addressed dementia research, trials, prevention, diagnosis and treatment in China. It took place in Guangzhou 9-10 November 2024.  

The 2024 World Dementia Council Summit took place March 2024 in London at the Francis Crick Institute. Bringing together over 150 global experts the summit debated the decade ahead considering the changing landscape in treatments, care, prevention and awarness globally as the first treatments begin to reach patients. 

In October the government of the Netherlands hosted a high level meeting on dementia. The one day meeting in the Hague brought together international leaders in government, research, and industry, as well as caregivers and advocates.  At the meeting attending governments agreed a new communique on demenita. The communique commits to the establishment of a new international governmental body on dementia and the establishment of a new international prize for leaders in the dementia field.

The G7 health ministers at their meeting in Nagazaki in May 2023 had a dedicated meeting on addressing the challenge of dementia organized by the Government of Japan, the World Dementia Council and the Health and Global Policy Institute. G7 health ministers in their communique restated their commitments to making advances in dementia research, care and risk reduction.

This one day meeting on March 20th 2023 at the Francis Crick Institute in London brought together international experts from around the world and focussed on the challenge of developing treatment and improving care in high and low-and-middle income countries. 

In October 2022 the Government of the Netherlands, with the World Dementia Council, hosted a virtual meeting on progress in research and care. Netherlands Minister for Long Term Care Conny Helder, WDC chair Professor Philip Scheltens, Professor Bart De Strooper, Dr Maria Carrillo,  Professor Charlotte Teunissen, Professor Philippe Amouyel, Professor David Sharp, Dr Greg Moore and Professor Wiesje van der Flier. Ahead of the meeting a collection of essays were published. 

The WDC Summit 2022 took place on 28 March 2022 at the Francis Crick Institute in London, UK. It brought together global dementia leaders, policymakers, and advocates to reflect on what has been achieved in the fields of research and care and identify public policy challenges that need to be overcome to accelerate progress.

The Council held 13 global dialogues for over 400 international dementia leaders on key topics for the field. The topics includes biomarkers, care provision, technology in care settings, prevention, the experience of early career researchers and the perspective of people living with dementia. After all of the sessions the Council published the transcript of the diagloue and a collection of essays from thought leaders in the field. 

A revised WDC Summit 2021 took place virtually (originally planned to be held in London) on 6 December 2021 and focused on progress and challenges in the research field.

As part of the project to present a global evidence base for dementia friendly initiatives, the WDC co-hosted a satellite roundtable event in Sydney, Australia, on 26 September 2019. Organised with the Government of Australia, international participants explored regional examples delivering dementia friendly initiatives.

The WDC partnered with the Financial Times for a dementia summit in London on 18 September 2019. We explored the latest advances in diagnosis and treatments, whilst addressing the challenges facing those responsible for bringing new ideas to life.

On 5 December 2018, global leaders and the international dementia community came together once again in London, UK for the WDC's five-year progress summit, organised with the Wellcome Trust and Janssen Neuroscience.

As part of the project to present a global evidence base for dementia friendly initiatives, the WDC co-hosted a satellite roundtable event in Los Angeles, United States, on 16 July 2019. The event was organized with AARP and brought together stakeholders from across the world to discuss how dementia friendly programs are simultaneously seeking to change society whilst providing support for people with dementia.