We wanted to improve the inclusion and quality of life of people living with dementia by developing and promoting an innovative Creative Reminiscence approach. More specifically, we aimed to increase the skills of formal and informal carers by providing them with practical methods and tools combining reminiscence with art appreciation, craft, music, theatre and digital memory boxes. We also wanted to create strong training resources for VET and continuing professional development, including an Educator’s Manual, a Training Programme and practical examples that could be used in real care and learning settings. A further objective was to strengthen transnational and cross-sector cooperation between organisations from the care, education, cultural and digital fields, so that their complementary expertise could be brought together into one shared methodology. Finally, we wanted to promote wider awareness and uptake of this approach among institutions, professionals and networks beyond the partnership.
Europe’s population is ageing and by 2050, 3 in 10 people in the EU will be over age 65. It is not enough to keep senior people safe; there is also a growing need to protect their quality of life, dignity, inclusion and well-being during increasingly longer lives, namely for those with cognitive decline. While demand for care and carers is increasing, care professions often struggle to recruit and need stronger practical support. Reminiscence is a valuable non-pharmacological approach, but it is often used in a limited way and carers, educators and institutions do not always have concrete tools to utilise it. Beyond the care sector, this challenge requires closer cooperation between care, VET, culture and digital actors, because people living with dementia benefit from meaningful social, artistic and educational engagement, not only from basic care. Focusing on the training value of reminiscence, we needed practical resources that could help formal and informal carers, VET educators and other professionals learn new ways of working. The project addressed the need for more creative, accessible and transferable methods that would benefit both people living with dementia and their carers, while making care work more meaningful.