“We want to raise awareness of dementia,” said Ute Röding, Head of Corporate Citizenship at AUDI AG. “Our aim is to initiate an open dialogue about dementia and the care of loved ones and to remove any possible psychological barriers. As a company, we want to provide support to employees in a caregiving situation in their efforts to balance work and caregiving.” As Sabine Jansen, Executive Director of the German Alzheimer’s Association, emphasizes: “Dementia Partners help share knowledge about dementia and foster an understanding for people with dementia and their families. We are pleased that Audi is becoming a part of this worldwide movement and in so doing is sending a clear signal of its social commitment.”
Individual Audi employees can also become a Dementia Partner. This involves training in which they learn about the disease and how to deal with people living with dementia. In addition, Audi offers its employees regular lectures on “Career and caregiving” that revolve around the issue of dementia. The company first invited its employees and the public to a series of events relating to dementia in autumn 2019. These events included a dementia activity course where participants could gain an understanding for the situation of a dementia patient at demo stations and in various exercises. A caregiving dialogue and caregiving consultation are also offered at Audi: Counselors are available here to help affected Audi employees with their individual questions. The company conducts these programs in cooperation with Audi BKK and the social company famPLUS GmbH, which operates throughout Germany.
More about the Dementia Partners initiative
Under the motto “Dementia needs you,” the Dementia Partners initiative has been committed since 2016 to removing psychological barriers and reducing uncertainty when dealing with people with dementia. The German Alzheimer’s Association (DAlzG) is the sponsor of the initiative. The DAlzG is a self-help organization that is committed throughout Germany to improving the situation of people with dementia and their families. The Dementia Partners initiative is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Health and the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. More about the initiative at www.demenz-partner.de.