{"id":2194,"date":"2026-08-06T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/06\/walking-the-talk\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T14:30:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T14:30:00","slug":"walking-the-talk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/06\/walking-the-talk\/","title":{"rendered":"Walking the Talk"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week we hand over to Dr Shirley Evans<\/a>, Director of the Association for Dementia Studies<\/a>, to hear about their experience of the recent Walking the Talk for Dementia.<\/p>\n

Walking the Talk for Dementia 2026: Turning Values into Action<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Between 28 June and 4 July 2026, I had the privilege and joy of participating in Walking the Talk for Dementia 2026<\/em><\/a>, a remarkable four-day, 40-kilometre walk along the iconic pilgrimage, the\u00a0Spanish Camino de Santiago<\/a>.\u00a0This was followed by a two-day international symposium. The event brought together a group of 85 people including people living with dementia, family carers, researchers, practitioners, policy makers and advocates from 35 countries. This created a unique opportunity to learn from one another and build a shared vision for a more inclusive future.<\/p>\n

Walking the Talk for Dementia was co-founded in 2023 by Atlantic Fellows for Equity in Brain Health<\/a>, Fernando Aguzzoli-Peres and Clara Dom\u00ednguez. The idea emerged from Fernando\u2019s experience caring for his grandmother, who lived with Alzheimer\u2019s disease and had dreamed of walking the Camino de Santiago. He became frustrated that the voices of people living with dementia and family carers were often overlooked, while traditional conferences felt hierarchical and disconnected from lived experience. Walking the Talk was created to break down these barriers by bringing together people affected by, working in, and researching dementia to walk, learn and collaborate as equals.<\/p>\n

As Director of the Association for Dementia Studies<\/a>, I spend much of my time working to improve the lives of people affected by dementia through research, education and knowledge exchange and my charity work. Yet this experience reminded me that some of the most important learning happens outside meeting rooms, lecture theatres and conference halls. Walking side by side with people from diverse backgrounds created space for genuine conversations, deep reflection and meaningful connections.<\/p>\n

What made the experience particularly powerful was the strong emphasis on lived experience. People living with dementia were not simply participants; they were leaders, contributors and experts in their own right. Their stories highlighted both the challenges that remain and the possibilities that emerge when communities work together to support inclusion, autonomy and wellbeing.<\/p>\n

Throughout the week, I was inspired by the shared commitment to ensuring that nobody is left behind. Despite differences in culture, language and healthcare systems, participants were united by common values: respect, dignity, belonging and the belief that people living with dementia should continue to have opportunities to contribute to their communities and shape decisions that affect their lives.<\/p>\n

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Shirley on the walk, the whole group, and Shirley\u2019s official walk portrait
Photos: Jo\u00e3o Barbosa \u2013 Walking the Talk for Dementia Institute<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

By the time we got to the symposium on the last two days we had shared stories and meals and had walked, sung and danced together and fostered friendships and lasting associations. This made the symposium a very special experience. Through presentations, workshops and informal discussions, we explored innovative approaches to dementia support, research and policy from around the world. I returned to the UK with fresh ideas, new international connections and a renewed sense of purpose.<\/p>\n

Most importantly, Walking the Talk reinforced that real change requires more than good intentions. It requires action, partnership and a willingness to listen. It means ensuring that our work is guided by the voices and experiences of those most affected by dementia.<\/p>\n

I returned home energised and hopeful. The week was a powerful reminder that when we truly walk alongside one another, we can create a world where people affected by dementia are valued, included and supported to live well.<\/p>\n

Connect with ADS on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a>,\u00a0Threads<\/a>,\u00a0LinkedIn,<\/a>\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Twitter<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week we hand over to Dr Shirley Evans, Director of the Association for Dementia Studies, to hear about their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dementia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2194\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}