Conference - Alzheimers New Zealand

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Grounded in lived experience, our 2026 conference will bring together leading voices from across the sector to share ideas, spark conversations, and help shape a better future for people and their whānau living with dementia mate wareware.

📅 When: Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 September
📍 Where: Grand Millennium, Auckland and online

Marking World Alzheimers Month, this event will also be a timely lead up to the 2026 General Election and an opportunity for you to join us as we celebrate our 40^th birthday – making it a powerful moment for connection, learning, and impact.

There’ll be something for everyone, from researchers and decision-makers to clinicians, community service providers and people with lived experience.

We’ll start World Alzheimers Month with a political panel as part of the pre-election activities on Tuesday 1 September from 5pm in Wellington and online. Please note you need to register for each event separately.

We’ll add more details as they’re confirmed.

Register now

Day one: Making the Action Plan real (from 1pm)

Kaupapa

Mihi whakatau and welcome

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei
Alzheimers NZ

Plenary session: Setting the scene
Latest breaking news and find out Government’s plans

Associate Minister of Health Hon Casey Costello conference opening
Jendi Patterson – Lived experience perspective
Professor Ngaire Kerse, University of Auckland – IDEA study
Professor Maurice Curtis, University of Auckland – What does the science tell us?

Breakout sessions (concurrent)
Working together to make our case through stories and data

Telling better stories – facilitator Fiona Parrant, Chair Lived Experience Advisory Group – in person and online
- Bill Yeates – Lived experience perspective
- More details to come
Strengthening the case with data – facilitator Nicky McDonald, Director Office for Seniors – in person and online
- Cathy Cooney, Dementia NZ and Alzheimers NZ (speaker TBC) – Joint national data set
- Tom Love, Health NZ – How Health NZ uses their data to shape the services they purchase
- Margaret Milne, InterRai – What does the InterRai data tell us about the people living with dementia?
- More details to come

Beyond dementia: A tale of Aotearoa New Zealand’s future
A panel that looks beyond today’s challenges to what’s possible

More details to come

Join us for a networking event to acknowledge our 40^th birthday

Day two: Service innovations and workforce (full day)

Kaupapa

Plenary session: Service innovations
Changing the way services are delivered in our communities

Denise Cogrove, The Selwyn Foundation and Lady Tureiti Moxon, Te Kōhao Health – Kaupapa Māori services
Dr Matthew Croucher, Health NZ Waitaha Canterbury – Dementia diagnosis

Plenary session: Workforce
Tackling the ongoing challenges facing the workforce

More details to come

Breakout sessions (concurrent)
Working sessions on the challenges of strengths-based services and enablement

Professional development – in person only (not available online)
- More details to come
Service innovations – in person and online
- Lived experience voice (TBC)
- Associate Professor Gary Cheung and Dr Kathy Peri, University of Auckland – CST innovations in Aotearoa New Zealand
- Helen Frank, Alzheimers Taranaki – Younger Onset Dementia
- More details to come