Millennium Forum theatre, and Roisin Flynn, from Derry, are among the winners of the Northern Ireland Dementia Friendly Awards, held at the Europa Hotel on Tuesday 28 November, taking the award for dementia friendly small to medium organisation of the year.
The Millennium Forum Theatre and Conference Centre is a leading dementia friendly arts venue in the North West. It holds Relaxed Performances as well as introducing dementia singing lessons, which are interactive sessions hosted by panto staff.
Millennium Forum theatre also amended the restaurant, shop and bar menus to include pictures of food and drink on offer. They installed specialised signage with images and words, and provided pre-show information booklets for dementia friendly performances, as well as a dedicated quiet room.
David McLaughlin, Chief Executive, Millennium Forum, said: “We are delighted to receive this award. Since staging our first Dementia Friendly panto show in Dec 2015, we have been working closely with local organisations including Deed, OLT and the Alzheimer’s Society to develop this aspect of our annual programming. As a fully accessible theatre, we believe that everyone should experience a theatrical performance.
We are proud that the Millennium Forum has been leading the way as a Dementia Friendly theatre; in 2015, we were the first theatre in Ireland to stage a specially adapted performance of our Christmas pantomime for our customers living with dementia and their families, and, last year, this offering was developed to form the ‘Sing Song Sessions’ which took our panto cast to various centres across the city, enabling people living with dementia to enjoy an afternoon of live music.
This award recognises our tireless efforts and commitment to the continuous development of our venue as a leading example of accessible theatre in Ireland and beyond.”
Roisin is a dedicated volunteer for the Foyle area since 2012. She has supported Alzheimer’s Society in a variety of roles including; volunteer Advocate, volunteer at the Foyle Dementia Café, and volunteering at the Carer Support Groups in her local area. In addition, Roisin has also managed to find time to become a Dementia Friendly Community Champion.
Roisin Flynn said: “It’s been a lovely afternoon. I’m very grateful to receive this award. But I am accepting this award on behalf of all the fantastic carers out there that I’ve been dealing with for the last number of years. And it’s to their great strength and dedication they show for their loved ones, the hard work they do, and the journey that they are on.”
Dementia devastates lives. By 2021, 1 million people will be living with dementia. The Alzheimer’s Society Northern Ireland Dementia Friendly awards 2017 unite communities and individuals across the UK to recognise, celebrate and promote the inspirational achievements of those making a real difference to people living with dementia.
Bernadine McCrory, Country Director (Northern Ireland) for Alzheimer’s Society, said: “It is amazing that Millenium Forum theatre and Roisin Flynn have won these dementia friendly awards and it is a testament to their tremendous dementia friendly work. The level of nominations received this year was truly phenomenal and there were some exceptional stories heard at the awards ceremony. All the finalists and winners at the Dementia Friendly Awards have demonstrated how we can unite against dementia and support those affected by the condition.”
This year there were 12 awards across 10 categories, with awards for Dementia Friendly Organisation, Community, Partnership, Dementia Friends Champion, Innovation, Young person’s contribution and Inspiring Individual, as well as brand new categories to celebrate individual and group fundraiser of the year, and journalist of the year. The full list of winners for the different categories can be found online at Alzheimers.org.uk
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