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Swiss journalist Magnus Renggli wins Alzheimer Europe's Anti-Stigma Award at a special ceremony in Brussels on "Dementia Day"
Brussels, 11 December 2024 – Yesterday evening, at a special award ceremony as part of Alzheimer Europe’s “European Parliament Dementia Day”, Swiss journalist Magnus Renggli (pictured, left) was announced as the winner of the 2024 Anti-Stigma-Award for his documentary film Alzheimer mit 56 – Das Familienleben nach der Diagnose (“Alzheimer’s at the age of 56 – family life after the diagnosis”) which forms part of the “Reporter” series on Swiss Television. The programme documents the personal lives of the protagonists, married couple Stefan T. Müller and his wife Nadine Haldemann, as well as their family, over a long period of time. It captures the highs and lows, in order to demonstrate both the opportunities and the challenges faced by those affected by Alzheimer's dementia, as well as those close to them. The aim was to create more understanding in society and to help reduce the stigma surrounding the condition.
Alzheimer Europe launched a call for applications for the third edition of the annual Anti-Stigma Award in April 2024, with the aim of giving recognition to a European journalist for an article, new story or documentary which contributed to combatting stigma and promoting a positive image of dementia and people living with dementia. This year, the award consisted of a cash prize of EUR 5,000 for first place, a cash prize of EUR 2,500 for second place and a cash prize of EUR 1,250 for third place, each of which was accompanied by a trophy.
Alzheimer Europe and the sponsors of the Award, the Alzheimer Europe Foundation, C2N Diagnostics, Lilly and Roche, warmly congratulate Magnus Renggli, who was nominated for the Anti-Stigma Award by Alzheimer Schweiz Suisse Svizzera.
Second place went to Ofelya Kamavosyan (pictured, centre) from Armenia for her public radio show “Second Start Armenia Road Show”. This initiative was launched in 2022 as the first-ever media initiative in Armenia dedicated to Alzheimer’s disease and was conceived through a collaboration between the NGO "Alzheimer’s Care Armenia" and Public Radio Armenia. The primary objectives of the project are to raise awareness about dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s disease, to inform the public about available services and regulations, and to share uplifting success stories to instil optimism.
Third place was awarded to Andreas Kreimaier (pictured, right) from Germany for his late-night talk show “Wilkommen Alzheimer” (“Welcome Alzheimer’s”). This was a special edition of the late-night talk show "Welcome Austria" produced by Superfilm Film Production on behalf of the Austrian national public broadcaster. The aim of the show was make the topic of dementia accessible to a broad audience in a humorous yet always respectful manner, to raise awareness and to help reduce the stigma around dementia.
The Anti-Stigma Award Ceremony and dinner was held on the evening of 10 December at the Thon EU hotel in Brussels. Heike von Lützau-Hohlbein, Chairperson of the Alzheimer Europe Foundation, Katarina Ivanković Knežević, Director of Social Rights and Inclusion at the European Commission, and Nina Carberry MEP (Ireland), Co-Chair of the European Alzheimer’s Alliance welcomed guests to the event and invited the three finalists to present their initiatives, before the winner and runners-up were announced.
The Awards were presented by:
Kevin Quaid, Jury Member and Chairperson of the European Working Group of People with Dementia, who presented third place to Andreas Kreimaier (pictured, below, left).
Maria do Rosário Zincke dos Reis, Vice-Chairperson of the Alzheimer Europe Foundation and Chairperson of Alzheimer Europe, who presented second place to Ofelya Kamavosyan (pictured, below, centre).
Nina Carberry MEP (Ireland), Co-Chair of the European Alzheimer’s Alliance, who presented first place to Magnus Renggli (pictured, below, right).
Congratulations to all the winners for their important work and a big thank you to all our presenters and to everyone who applied for the award this year. Alzheimer Europe also gratefully acknowledges the support of the sponsors of the Alzheimer Europe Anti-Stigma Award: Alzheimer Europe Foundation, C2N Diagnostics, Lilly and Roche.
More information about the Anti-Stigma Award can be found at: https://www.alzheimer-europe.org/our-work/anti-stigma-award. 18 applications were received for the Anti-Stigma Award in 2024 and were reviewed by the Anti-Stigma Award Jury, which was comprised of the following representatives:
Alzheimer Europe Foundation: Heike von Lützau-Hohlbein, Chris Roberts and Iva Holmerová
Alzheimer Europe: Maria do Rosário Zincke dos Reis and Mario Possenti
C2N Diagnostics: Daniel Connell
European Working Group of People with Dementia: Lilo Klotz and Kevin Quaid
European Dementia Carers Working Group: Magnús Karl Magnússon and Zornitsa Karagyozova
Lilly: Laura Campo
Roche: Shady Sedhom
2023 Award Winner: Ripaljeet Kaur (BME Dementia Service, United Kingdom)
Notes to editors:
Alzheimer Europe is the umbrella organisation of national Alzheimer associations and currently has 41 member organisations in 36 European countries.
The Alzheimer Europe Foundation supports networking activities of national Alzheimer’s associations in the framework of Alzheimer Europe, encourages the involvement of people with dementia in European conferences, meetings and projects, promotes European dialogue on legal and ethical issues in dementia, and supports the exchange of information and good practices on national dementia strategies and Alzheimer’s plans.
The European Alzheimer’s Alliance (EAA) has been active in the European Parliament since 2007. It is a non-exclusive, multinational and cross-party group that brings together MEPs supporting the campaign of Alzheimer Europe and its members to make dementia a public health and research priority in Europe. The EAA currently has 79 members from 21 countries. MEPs can join the EAA at any time, by contacting Alzheimer Europe.
European Parliament Dementia Day took place on 10 December and was the culmination of Alzheimer Europe’s 2024 Dementia Needs EU campaign which is based on the principles of the Helsinki Manifesto. The day saw a series of meetings taking place in Brussels between EU policymakers, Alzheimer’s associations from across Europe and people with lived experience of dementia.
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