“We have the right to be treated as human beings… and that means the right to decide who our communities are. It’s not for systems and professionals to decide who my community is for me…”

Dementia remains one of the greatest challenges of our time, but the solution doesn’t lie in isolated silos.

On the 5th of February 2026,  we launched the BRIDGES for Dementia Network+. BRIDGES (Building Research Innovation co-Developing Greater Empowerment and Support) is designed to act as the connective tissue between innovative research, clinical and social care support, and most importantly the lived experiences of those affected by dementia.

People with lived experience were at the centre of the event, which was a chance to hear more from people like Howard Gordon, quoted above, a former health care worker who was diagnosed with dementia and is now on the BRIDGES board.

The interdisciplinary network draws on expertise across the arts, health, social care and technology to co-design assistive and smart technologies with the people who will use them.

“Living a good life with dementia means helping me to be me. I’m not just an example of someone with dementia,” Said Julie Hayden at the launch. “I’ve lived a full life before this, I’ve had careers, I’ve been a carer myself, I’m a mother, a grandmother, I have so many interests… I’m not just a person with dementia, there’s so much more to me…”

The slides presented at our launch event are available for download from the link here