Mr Danny Raven Tan (陈重源), Co-founder, Enable Asia says, "It was very challenging during COVID-19 when we had to be very careful with the people we meet outside of home, for fear of bringing the virus back to my mother who is living with advanced dementia. I had to cut off social interaction in order to protect her, especially when I was down with the virus myself. She unavoidably felt really isolated and down as she could not understand the lack of interaction when I used to see her and massage her every day."

The festival will be held from 23 September to 16 October 2022, in conjunction with World Alzheimer's Day (21 September 2022) and spans over to World Mental Health Day (10 October 2022). It emphasises the importance of dementia awareness and caregivers' mental well-being with a line-up of activities for persons living with dementia, caregivers and the public to engage in. Following the aftermath of the COVID-19 restriction, this is the first time that the festival is taking on a hybrid² format, with 60% of the programmes online and 40% physically held at National Gallery Singapore. Enabling Festival Artistic Director, Jeremiah Choy, says, "Visitors can expect to be engaged both physically and digitally through experiential art and creative workshops, insightful talks as well as a short film screening that shed light on touching stories in our society."

In tandem with The Enabling Festival 2022's theme of touch, the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) will be showcasing a video on Namaste Care, a multi-approach care programme that incorporates sensory, psychosocial and spiritual elements to enhance the quality of life for persons living with dementia. The video features practical tips for communicating with persons living with dementia to benefit caregivers and their loved ones.

Mr Noel Cheah, AIC's Deputy Chief Executive Officer, shared, "Caregivers play an important role in supporting the needs of their loved ones, and they are a valuable pillar within the healthcare system. A programme like Namaste Care complements their caregiving efforts by promoting a loving touch approach to carry out meaningful activities. To better equip caregivers with knowledge and skills, AIC will work with our partners to develop more tools and resources. We will continue to look into ways to support caregivers in their journey in line with our vision to enable seniors to live well and age gracefully in the community."

Ms Suenne Megan Tan, Senior Director, Museum Planning and Audience Engagement, National Gallery Singapore, says, "National Gallery Singapore is delighted to support The Enabling Festival as a Programme Partner as we recognise the proven benefits of art engagement in enhancing the well-being of persons living with dementia and their caregivers. As part of our vision to be an inclusive and accessible space for diverse communities to enjoy meaningful engagement with the arts, the Gallery will be introducing new initiatives including an evidence-based programme to better serve this community."

"As dementia becomes more prevalent in Singapore, The Enabling Festival will continue to serve as an enablement and empowerment platform to help the public understand how persons living with dementia and their family caregivers perceive dementia, navigate their day-to-day activities, age-in-place and live independently in the community." said Daniel Lim (林国源), Co-founder, Enable Asia.

Onwards and towards a dementia-friendly Singapore

Heightened awareness is essential as we strive to look for ways to overcome the challenges family caregivers and persons living with dementia face in the aspects of emotional health, community inclusiveness, job fulfillment, and financial support. It takes a whole village and multiple helping hands approach to achieve a dementia-friendly Singapore.

The Enabling Festival 2022 is an annual event focused on building awareness and facilitating discussions around dementia, as well as providing a channel of support and enablement for persons living with dementia and their caregivers.

The festival is organised by Enable Asia, a Singapore-based social enterprise dedicated to advocacy for persons living with dementia and their family caregivers and supported by The Majurity Trust and the Agency for Integrated Care.

Register for The Enabling Festival 2022 (free entry, registration required): https://enablingfestival.peatix.com/^[3]

Check out The Enabling Festival 2022 programme brochure (PDF): https://bit.ly/3xtoatx^[4]

Follow us on Facebook^[5], Instagram^[6], YouTube^[7], TikTok^[8] or refer to our Website^[9] for updates.

¹ See annex for caregivers' stories ² See annex for list of programmes

PROFILES OF ACCOMPANYING GUESTS-OF-HONOUR PERSONS LIVING WITH DEMENTIA AND THEIR FAMILY CAREGIVERS

1. Ms Irene Chan, 48 years old, was a former caregiver for her 77-year-old mother, Mdm Esther Liw Hong Chan, who was diagnosed with dementia in 2016. Mdm Liw had recently passed on. Ms Chan was in Singapore while her mother was based in Australia, during Covid-19, Ms Chan was back in Singapore to settle the administrative processes of employing a foreign domestic helper and transferring the help to provide care for her mother and father in Australia. She is a successful business consultant.
2. Mr William Koh (许威良), who turned 18 in 2022, is a caregiver for his mother, Mdm Margaret Rankin Laird, 60 years old. His caregiving journey started in 2018 before his 'O' levels examinations, which was challenging for a 14-year-old teenager. Today, he is not only juggling caregiving duties at home and preparation of his 'A' levels examinations, but also real life issues with single parenthood and financial woes. Despite facing struggles beyond what a teenager typically faces, he strives to do the best he can.
3. Mr Alvin Tan, 59 years old, founder and Artistic Director for The Necessary Stage, is a caregiver for his 87-year-old mother, Mdm Loo Geok Hoon, for 10 years. Mr Tan's mother has always been supportive of him in life and career, telling him that, "You have only one life. So be happy." A testament of 'A mother's love is as strong as she's ageing.'
4. Mr Richard Ashworth, a 68-year-old retiree, was a caregiver for his father, Mr John Malcolm Ashworth, 89 years old, who lived with dementia for 10 years. Mr John has passed on in 2022. Mr Richard was adopted by Mr John, a British cargo ship captain, when he was 21 years old in 1975. His father taught him English and later encouraged him to take up sculpturing and enter his works for competition, later winning a prize in 1986. It was the help of the community that has supported him tremendously during this period.
5. Ms Nora Samosir is a caregiver for her late father, and her 95-year-old mother, who has been living with dementia for the past seven years. One of the emotional battles she had to face, aside from being the sole caregiver for both parents who are highly dependent on her, was to constantly remind her mother that her husband is dying when her mother was looking for him. Ms Samosir is a Singaporean actress of Indonesian descent who won a 2002 Life Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has been active in the Singapore theatre scene since 1979 and has worked in television and film.
6. Mr Baba Richard Tan, 66 years old, Chairman of GenerAsia & Director of the Main Wayang Company, is a caregiver for his 86-year-old mother, Mdm Lucy Ng, who is living with dementia for eight years.
7. Mr Rosli Anjang Al Faqir, 58 years old was taken care of by wife, Mdm Sarima Mohd Tajudin, 57 years old since 2014. Mr Rosli was diagnosed with mixed dementia at the age of 50 – young-onset dementia and Lewy body dementia, a lesser known type of dementia (this dementia was what comedian and actor Robin Williams had). Back then, he decided to take matters into his own hands and get the answers to what was really wrong with him. He went to the hospital and they told him to do a dementia test. "I thought I was intelligent but I failed the test." Since 2019, Mr Rosli has been a self-advocate for dementia care and continues to speak up about the condition in his community, at his mosque and with his friends, in the hopes to reduce the negative stigma in society.
8. Ms Emily Soh, 60 years old, works in an International School and is a caregiver for her 92-year-old mother, Mdm Lee Ng Kum. Mdm Lee was an avid swimmer when she started to learn swimming at the age of 79. Mdm Lee was diagnosed with mild dementia in 2018. She likes traveling and fortunately, she travelled to South Korea (2017) and Japan (2018) before Covid-19 happened and the borders closed. Ms Soh's mother enjoys sewing and gardening and making compost for her plants. This is a positive testament that despite suffering from dementia, one can continue to live a fulfilled life.
9. Ms Dorcas Yeo (杨奕欣), 26 years old, was a secondary caregiver to her 93-year-old grandmother who lived with dementia for 12 years. Ms Yeo saw how her parents took care of her grandmother - they are the perfect role models of family caregiving. Her grandmother passed away in 2022. Ms Yeo is also the designer for "Colour Our Memories" - an Art activity colouring book for elderly and people living with dementia produced by Enable Asia.
10. Ms Grace Lee-Khoo, 36 years old, an art practitioner and founder of Access Path Production, is a caregiver for her 72-year-old father, Mr Tan Tok, a retiree who has been living with Alzhemier's Disease since 2017. Grace is married with a one year old baby boy. She is now a caregiver for both a child and an elderly, tackling the daily challenges of being a three-generation family caregiver while juggling a highly successful career.

References

1. ^{^} Media OutReach (www.media-outreach.com)
2. ^{^} festival programmes (bit.ly)
3. ^{^} https://enablingfestival.peatix.com/ (enablingfestival.peatix.com)
4. ^{^} https://bit.ly/3xtoatx (bit.ly)
5. ^{^} Facebook (www.facebook.com)
6. ^{^} Instagram (www.instagram.com)
7. ^{^} YouTube (www.youtube.com)
8. ^{^} TikTok (www.tiktok.com)
9. ^{^} Website (www.enableasia.org)
10. ^{^} https://enablingfestival2022thelanguageoftouch1.peatix.com/ (enablingfestival2022thelanguageoftouch1.peatix.com)
11. ^{^} https://enablingfestival2022thelanguageoftouch2.peatix.com/ (enablingfestival2022thelanguageoftouch2.peatix.com)
12. ^{^} https://enablingfestival2022thelanguageoftouch3.peatix.com/ (enablingfestival2022thelanguageoftouch3.peatix.com)
13. ^{^} https://enablingfestival2022thelanguageoftouch4.peatix.com/ (enablingfestival2022thelanguageoftouch4.peatix.com)
14. ^{^} https://enablingfestival2022touchingmoments6.peatix.com/ (enablingfestival2022touchingmoments6.peatix.com)
15. ^{^} https://enablingfestivaltouchingmoments1.peatix.com/ (enablingfestivaltouchingmoments1.peatix.com)
16. ^{^} https://enablingfestival2022touchingmoments4.peatix.com/ (enablingfestival2022touchingmoments4.peatix.com)
17. ^{^} https://enablingfestivaltouchingmoments2.peatix.com/ (enablingfestivaltouchingmoments2.peatix.com)
18. ^{^} https://enablingfestival2022touchingmoments7.peatix.com/ (enablingfestival2022touchingmoments7.peatix.com)
19. ^{^} https://enablingfestival2022touchingmoments8.peatix.com/ (enablingfestival2022touchingmoments8.peatix.com)
20. ^{^} https://enablingfestival2022touchingmoments5.peatix.com/ (enablingfestival2022touchingmoments5.peatix.com)
21. ^{^} https://enablingfestival2022littleredcouch1.peatix.com/ (enablingfestival2022littleredcouch1.peatix.com)
22. ^{^} https://enablingfestival2022littleredcouch2.peatix.com/ (enablingfestival2022littleredcouch2.peatix.com)
23. ^{^} https://enablingfestival2022littleredcouch3.peatix.com/ (enablingfestival2022littleredcouch3.peatix.com)
24. ^{^} https://enablingfestival2022littleredcouch4.peatix.com/ (enablingfestival2022littleredcouch4.peatix.com)
25. ^{^} https://enablingfestival2022inconversation1.peatix.com/ (enablingfestival2022inconversation1.peatix.com)
26. ^{^} https://enablingfestival2022inconversation2.peatix.com/ (enablingfestival2022inconversation2.peatix.com)
27. ^{^} https://enablingfestival2022inconversation3.peatix.com/ (enablingfestival2022inconversation3.peatix.com)
28. ^{^} https://enablingfestival2022touchingstories.peatix.com/ (enablingfestival2022touchingstories.peatix.com)