Our films > Training films > Films for memory cafes
Films for memory cafes
Picturing Health has made films for a project that provides training and learning resources for use in memory cafes – spaces where people living dementia can meet with others and find friendship and support. The result of the project is the Memory Cafe Hub website – memorycafehub.org.uk – a free resource guiding memory cafe coordinators and volunteers, and anyone who runs or is thinking about setting up a memory cafe.
The Memory Cafe Hub was commissioned by the Devon Memory Cafe Consortium (DMCC) in South West England but is has been made publicly available to benefit the wider community. It was created by drawing on the expertise and experience of memory cafe coordinators, dementia educators and website developers. Films made by Picturing Health have been a key tool for the delivery of the training and advice found in the Memory Cafe Hub.
Running a memory cafe
The Memory Cafe Hub also includes learning modules to help people to set up and run a memory cafe. These modules offer comprehensive guidance on everything from getting started and taking care of legal matters to securing funding, finding volunteers and managing the day-to-day practicalities of running a memory cafe.
Films made by Picturing Health are embedded throughout these learning modules, and include personal insights from several memory cafe coordinators and others with experience in the field. These modules can be seen here: memorycafehub.org.uk/set-up
Dementia awareness training
These nine films comprise a free online course, devised and delivered by Steve Milton from Innovations in Dementia, to help people to understand and interact positively with people living with dementia. This training equips people with the skills they need to work as a memory cafe volunteer. It is presented through a learning management system, inviting people to answer test questions based on what they have learned in each film, and to submit them to a memory cafe coordinators to receive feedback.
You can also watch the films in isolation from the training system here – this is a useful page for anyone wishing to expand their awareness of the needs of people living with dementia, whether or not they are involved with a memory cafe.