Experts will focus on building academia-industry partnerships and fast-tracking innovation in dementia prevention, treatment, and care.
The Honorable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Health, officially announced that the Government of Canada and the Government of France will welcome international dementia experts to Ottawa on Sept. 11 and 12, 2014 for one of four global dementia Legacy Events.
This event will ensure that important research discoveries are transformed into meaningful solutions for people living with dementia and those who care for them.
The Canada-France Legacy Event aims to find practical ways to fast-track the development of new and innovative approaches to better support people living with dementia, and their families.
International academia and industry experts from G7 countries and international organizations are being invited on the basis of their knowledge and abilities to provide concrete solutions.
It expands on the Government of Canada’s commitment in the 2013 Speech from the Throne and Economic Action Plan 2014 to tackle the growing onset of dementia and related illnesses.
Minister Ambrose made the announcement as the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference wrapped up a week of discussions in Copenhagen, Denmark.
At the Conference, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) led a session with global dementia leaders to continue the international dialogue on dementia research and shared details about Global Legacy Events.
Quick Facts:
- Legacy Events stem from the unprecedented Summit on Dementia held in London, UK, in December 2013 under the leadership of British Prime Minister David Cameron. The Canada-France Legacy Event is the second of a series of four. The first was in London, UK (finance and social impact investment, June 2014) and the others will be in Japan (prevention and care, fall 2014) and in the US (winter 2015).
- The Canada-France Legacy Event will be co-led by CIHR and the French National Alliance for Life and Health Sciences (Aviesan) respectively. Approximately 200 global leaders in academia and industry fields from G7 countries and other organizations will be invited.
- As a result of the Legacy Event discussions in Ottawa, an Action Framework will be developed to address current challenges and barriers for enhanced collaboration between academia and industry. Following the series of Legacy Events, G7 countries will also hold a wrap-up session in 2015 to take stock of the progress made since the UK Summit.
- Since 2006, the Government of Canada has invested over $860 million through CIHR to support the work of Canadian researchers in the field of neuroscience. Of that amount, $182 million supported research to better understand dementia and guide improvements in the prevention, diagnosis and care.
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