This blog post was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

8th August 2014 Toronto, Canada

Toronto dementia hackathon: 12-14 September

You may remember that back in March we mentioned an exciting hackathon event to build a software platform for the self- and community management of dementia. We can announce today that this event will take place over 12-14 September 2014 in Toronto, and 11, 13-14 September 2014 in London.

Never shy of large or complex projects, SIN Canada and UK Trade and Investment opted to run a trans-Atlantic parallel hackathon in order to lower the barrier to entry for as many people as possible in both Canada and the UK. While the time difference means that coding in the two cities won’t happen at exactly the same time, the judging will happen simultaneously and teams will pitch to both local and remote judges. We hope to bring out of this a working, user-needs-based application for people living with dementia to manage their condition.

For the Toronto hackathon, we have partnered with the hardworking folks at HackerNest to deliver what promises to be a fun and engaging event. HackerNest is an international non-profit focused on building supportive tech communities everywhere and strengthening local ecosystems through unpretentious social events and (hardware) hackathons. With roots in tech and a strong social mission, they are the ideal partner for this project. Interested? Registration is now open!

With so many dementia-related things going on in mid-September (the Global Action Against Dementia Legacy Event, associated World Youth Discussion Series, this hackathon and the OECD dementia summit), we’ll have a lot to report on by the time the next Legacy Event rolls around. As always, watch this space!

2 comments on “Toronto dementia hackathon: 12-14 September

  1. Both of my parents suffered from Demetia/Alzeimers. My father passed away from this horrible disease 10 years ago and my mother was diagnosed within a year after my father’s passing. I was devasted when I was informed but wanted to do as much as I could to slow down this disease.

    I had my mother move in with me shortly after she was diagosed and after speaking with her doctor I was told to keep my mother mentally and physically active as I could.

    I learned all about the different programs that they have for dementia/alzeimers. The biggest help for me was enrolling my mom in one of the adult day programs they have in our area. My mom was not happy about going but very soon she was enjoying it, spending time with other people. Eventually I had my mom going in 5-7 days a week. Not only was it good for my mom, but gave me a much needed break. I knew she was taken care of and enjoying her time that she spent there. The doctors were amazed on how well she was doing and told me to continue having her go to these programs.

    I learned so much on the different programs that are available and are amazed on how many people do not know about them.

    Now I speak to caregivers mthly at a nursing home in my area on a mthly basis, helping and advising them on the different programs they have available.

    Although there are programs available they need so many more as the waiting listing for the adult day program could be months.

  2. I’m interested in this event! I’m a 26 year old caregiver to my mother with early onset Alzheimer’s and I’m also a freelance videographer and video editor, is there any way for me to get involved?!

    Thanks!
    Kathryn

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About John Preece

I cover science and innovation for Ontario (excluding Ottawa), liaising with all relevant research institutions and companies. In 2015 I expect to be working on future cities, high-performance computing and…

I cover science and innovation for Ontario (excluding Ottawa), liaising with all relevant research institutions and companies. In 2015 I expect to be working on future cities, high-performance computing and innovation in healthcare, as well as continuing prior work on dementia, regenerative medicine and science outreach. In the free time that I have after managing multiple small children, I enjoy home improvement and board/computer gaming. You can follow me on Twitter at @jcpreece