The Enabling Festival 2022 (賦智生活节) opens for the fifth year, aims to support a dementia-friendly Singapore through The Power of Touch
- Written by Media Outreach
SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 23 September 2022 -The Enabling Festival 2022 opens on 23 September 2022 at National Gallery Singapore, with the key programme focus on the theme of Touch. COVID-19 has created a world of isolation and disrupted a fixed routine that many persons living with dementia live by. The lack of social and physical interaction has inevitably increased the burden and stress of caregiving. Too often we have underestimated the power of touch and its potential to heal when words become cumbersome. The festival aims to remind participants that touch is memory and is where we begin our journey to communicate, through a series of thought-provoking and engaging festival programmes. Visitors can expect to learn practical skills and ideas to help close the gap, as well as real-life experiences of persons living with dementia and their caregivers. 
Ms Rahayu Mahzam, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Law, will open the festival with 10 pairs of persons living with dementia and their family caregivers1, as a ground-up approach recognising the festival built by caregivers for caregivers. Mr Danny Raven Tan (陈重源), Co-founder, Enable Asia says, "It was very challenging during COVID-19 when we had to be very careful with the people we meet outside of home, for fear of bringing the virus back to my mother who is living with advanced dementia. I had to cut off social interaction in order to protect her, especially when I was down with the virus myself. She unavoidably felt really isolated and down as she could not understand the lack of interaction when I used to see her and massage her every day." The festival will be held from 23 September to 16 October 2022, in conjunction with World Alzheimer's Day (21 September 2022) and spans over to World Mental Health Day (10 October 2022). It emphasises the importance of dementia awareness and caregivers' mental well-being with a line-up of activities for persons living with dementia, caregivers and the public to engage in. Following the aftermath of the COVID-19 restriction, this is the first time that the festival is taking on a hybrid2 format, with 60% of the programmes online and 40% physically held at National Gallery Singapore. Enabling Festival Artistic Director, Jeremiah Choy, says, "Visitors can expect to be engaged both physically and digitally through experiential art and creative workshops, insightful talks as well as a short film screening that shed light on touching stories in our society." In tandem with The Enabling Festival 2022's theme of touch, the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) will be showcasing a video on Namaste Care, a multi-approach care programme that incorporates sensory, psychosocial and spiritual elements to enhance the quality of life for persons living with dementia. The video features practical tips for communicating with persons living with dementia to benefit caregivers and their loved ones. Mr Noel Cheah, AIC's Deputy Chief Executive Officer, shared, "Caregivers play an important role in supporting the needs of their loved ones, and they are a valuable pillar within the healthcare system. A programme like Namaste Care complements their caregiving efforts by promoting a loving touch approach to carry out meaningful activities. To better equip caregivers with knowledge and skills, AIC will work with our partners to develop more tools and resources. We will continue to look into ways to support caregivers in their journey in line with our vision to enable seniors to live well and age gracefully in the community." Ms Suenne Megan Tan, Senior Director, Museum Planning and Audience Engagement, National Gallery Singapore, says, "National Gallery Singapore is delighted to support The Enabling Festival as a Programme Partner as we recognise the proven benefits of art engagement in enhancing the well-being of persons living with dementia and their caregivers. As part of our vision to be an inclusive and accessible space for diverse communities to enjoy meaningful engagement with the arts, the Gallery will be introducing new initiatives including an evidence-based programme to better serve this community." "As dementia becomes more prevalent in Singapore, The Enabling Festival will continue to serve as an enablement and empowerment platform to help the public understand how persons living with dementia and their family caregivers perceive dementia, navigate their day-to-day activities, age-in-place and live independently in the community." said Daniel Lim (林国源), Co-founder, Enable Asia. Onwards and towards a dementia-friendly Singapore Heightened awareness is essential as we strive to look for ways to overcome the challenges family caregivers and persons living with dementia face in the aspects of emotional health, community inclusiveness, job fulfillment, and financial support. It takes a whole village and multiple helping hands approach to achieve a...
Ms Rahayu Mahzam, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Law, will open the festival with 10 pairs of persons living with dementia and their family caregivers1, as a ground-up approach recognising the festival built by caregivers for caregivers. Mr Danny Raven Tan (陈重源), Co-founder, Enable Asia says, "It was very challenging during COVID-19 when we had to be very careful with the people we meet outside of home, for fear of bringing the virus back to my mother who is living with advanced dementia. I had to cut off social interaction in order to protect her, especially when I was down with the virus myself. She unavoidably felt really isolated and down as she could not understand the lack of interaction when I used to see her and massage her every day." The festival will be held from 23 September to 16 October 2022, in conjunction with World Alzheimer's Day (21 September 2022) and spans over to World Mental Health Day (10 October 2022). It emphasises the importance of dementia awareness and caregivers' mental well-being with a line-up of activities for persons living with dementia, caregivers and the public to engage in. Following the aftermath of the COVID-19 restriction, this is the first time that the festival is taking on a hybrid2 format, with 60% of the programmes online and 40% physically held at National Gallery Singapore. Enabling Festival Artistic Director, Jeremiah Choy, says, "Visitors can expect to be engaged both physically and digitally through experiential art and creative workshops, insightful talks as well as a short film screening that shed light on touching stories in our society." In tandem with The Enabling Festival 2022's theme of touch, the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) will be showcasing a video on Namaste Care, a multi-approach care programme that incorporates sensory, psychosocial and spiritual elements to enhance the quality of life for persons living with dementia. The video features practical tips for communicating with persons living with dementia to benefit caregivers and their loved ones. Mr Noel Cheah, AIC's Deputy Chief Executive Officer, shared, "Caregivers play an important role in supporting the needs of their loved ones, and they are a valuable pillar within the healthcare system. A programme like Namaste Care complements their caregiving efforts by promoting a loving touch approach to carry out meaningful activities. To better equip caregivers with knowledge and skills, AIC will work with our partners to develop more tools and resources. We will continue to look into ways to support caregivers in their journey in line with our vision to enable seniors to live well and age gracefully in the community." Ms Suenne Megan Tan, Senior Director, Museum Planning and Audience Engagement, National Gallery Singapore, says, "National Gallery Singapore is delighted to support The Enabling Festival as a Programme Partner as we recognise the proven benefits of art engagement in enhancing the well-being of persons living with dementia and their caregivers. As part of our vision to be an inclusive and accessible space for diverse communities to enjoy meaningful engagement with the arts, the Gallery will be introducing new initiatives including an evidence-based programme to better serve this community." "As dementia becomes more prevalent in Singapore, The Enabling Festival will continue to serve as an enablement and empowerment platform to help the public understand how persons living with dementia and their family caregivers perceive dementia, navigate their day-to-day activities, age-in-place and live independently in the community." said Daniel Lim (林国源), Co-founder, Enable Asia. Onwards and towards a dementia-friendly Singapore Heightened awareness is essential as we strive to look for ways to overcome the challenges family caregivers and persons living with dementia face in the aspects of emotional health, community inclusiveness, job fulfillment, and financial support. It takes a whole village and multiple helping hands approach to achieve a...