Free from fears: the video and resources from the fourth encounter are online
Institutional Communication Service
10 April 2025
On Thursday, 27 March 2025, the fourth encounter of the series "Free from Fears" took place. The lecture "Encouraging Autonomy" explored strategies and daily actions to support the autonomy of people with dementia.
The encounter offered reflections, strategies and concrete tools to simplify daily activities and promote the autonomy, safety and dignity of people with dementia in every phase of the disease.
A new animated video, "Enabling independence: The bow", was previewed, highlighting how small daily gestures and changes to the environment can have a significant impact on enabling independence for people with dementia. The video is available online here.
The concept of the video was developed by the research team led by Dr Maddalena Fiordelli, with the participation of Dr Anna Messina, Dr Rebecca Amati and Anna Maria Annoni. The video was created by videomaker Milly Miljkovic, with Ambra Guidotti providing technical support for audio editing.
The encounter featured Roberto Farci, head of the protected ward at Casa Serena (Lugano), family caregiver and counsellor; Simona Mazzagatti, coordinator of Progetto Amico and contact person for advance directives of the Swiss Red Cross – Sottoceneri branch; and Carla Norghauer, family caregiver.
From 4:30 pm, it was also possible to participate in some activities related to Percorso Alzheimer's, proposed by Roberto Farci, Rosanna Martinucci, Rosanna Pasini, and Denise Branchi Luminati.
The "Free from Fears" project is carried out by the Institute of Public Health of Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) in collaboration with Alzheimer Ticino, Lugano Istituti Sociali (LIS), Swiss Red Cross – Sottoceneri branch, Department of Health and Social Affairs of the Canton of Ticino (DSS), Pro Senectute Ticino and Moesano, Ticino Association of Psychologists (ATP) and the City of Lugano. It is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).
"Free from Fears" was also presented on 3 April at the Alzheimer's Forum 2025 by Dr Maddalena Fiordelli and Giancarlo Dillena at the Palazzo Congressi in Lugano in front of over 350 participants. The video "Finding time for yourself: the sofa" was also shown.
More information about the project is available here. Below, you can find and watch the full recording of the event.