Museums Inspiring Memories is a three-year project led by Amgueddfa Cymru in partnership with Alzheimer’s Society Cymru, and is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund. 

Starting in April 2022 and building on our existing programme of dementia-friendly museum activities, the project aims to work with people living with dementia, unpaid carers, carer sector staff, heritage sector colleagues, and communities and organisations across Wales, to develop and deliver practical ways to engage with and improve the quality of life of people affected by dementia, through access to museum resources and sites.

To achieve this, we will:

• establish a Dementia Voice in Heritage Group to help steer and shape the project
• develop and deliver dementia awareness training sessions for staff working within the heritage sector
• develop and deliver a supportive package for unpaid carers/care sector staff in using museum resources with those they care for
• create a programme of activities that will enable equitable access to museum resources and sites, for those affected by dementia

Using evidence gathered at sites audits and through conversations with people affected by dementia, heritage sector colleagues and representative organisations, a baseline report of where we were in terms of creating a supportive environment for people affected by dementia at the beginning of the project, was created. A link to the 'Executive Summary' of this can be found below.

“At Alzheimer’s Society we’re working towards a world where dementia no longer devastates lives. We do this by giving help to those living with dementia today, and providing hope for the future. For many people, museums and heritage sites are incredibly important and a constant feature throughout our lifetime. This often ranges from visiting places of historical interest with our parents as a child or on a school trip, to going to places of national interest on holiday. The importance of heritage sites increases as we get older, as a place to relax, recover and engage through multi-sensory stimulation of the environment around us. We’re thrilled to be working in partnership with Amgueddfa Cymru on the Museums Inspiring Memories Project, supporting the development and delivery of practical ways to engage with people affected by dementia and helping to improve health and wellbeing through access to museum resources and sites. We’re extremely pleased of the progress made to date by the Amgueddfa Cymru team and are looking forward to working together further as we explore new and exciting avenues to reach out to communities, further increasing the impact of the project.”

Richie Maiorano, Dementia Friendly Communities – Wales Lead, Alzheimer’s Society Cymru