A new campaign by cooperative Cera and the Expertise Centre for Dementia Flanders aims to bring music closer to people with dementia.
Singer Luka Cruysberghs has written a song for the campaign, titled ‘Unforgettable for Each Other’, which launched today to coincide with the start of the global Brain Awareness Week.
Scientific research has shown that musical memories and fragments often remain in the memory of people with dementia, says Jurn Verschraegen, director of the Expertise Centre for Dementia Flanders. “Music can help and support those with dementia,” he explains. “It allows you to communicate on a different level. Music is universal: it creates a beautiful connection between the person with dementia and the caregiver.”
Luka Cruysberghs’ song, which can be listened to from Monday, is written from the perspective of the caregiver. Cruysberghs cared for her grandmother when she was confronted with the illness. “It wasn’t always easy to care for her, but often just being together was enough,” she says. “Drinking coffee together, eating biscuits, just being there for each other. ‘As Long As We Are Together’ reflects those feelings and how singing together can create beautiful moments.”
The campaign also includes a pompon initiative. Cera invites everyone to make wool pompons and bring them to one of thirty collection points in Flanders. BeeldlaB, a studio for people with young-onset dementia at Beeldacademie Lier, will turn all the pompons into a large artwork symbolising the softness and resilience of people with dementia.
