Launched in 2019, bold was a five-year project delivered in partnership with The University of Edinburgh and Queen Margaret University. This work was supported by the Life Changes Trust, 2019 and the UK Research and Innovation Healthy Ageing Catalyst Award, 2023. bold’s aim was to be an innovative, creative and interactive social leadership programme for people across Scotland from all walks of life, including persons living with dementia, who were already taking a lead, making a difference and finding their place in the ‘dementia world'. The bold Online Social Leadership Programme took place on Zoom over 6 weeks, for 1 day for 2.5 hours and was designed to help them develop their leadership skills and build stronger networks so that they could grow in confidence and have greater impact.5 years on and that impact can be measured as:12 bold Online Social Leadership Programmes delivered175 partners as part of a thriving community including those living with dementia, unpaid dementia carers and dementia practitioners18 bold blethers15 bold films15 bold workshops11 bold resources5 bold in-person events4 bold songs All made by, with and for people living with dementia creating 1000's of bold ripple effects… Bold (Bringing out Leaders in Dementia) Community Interest Company Since October 2024 bold is now a spin out Social Enterprise from The University of Edinburgh and trading as a Community Interest Company which exits to benefit the bold creative dementia community. As a social enterprise our bold CIC board of directors comprises bold partners from our community including some living with dementia but all with lived experience of dementia who will oversee the strategic direction ensuring bold operates with both financial sustainability and a strong commitment to its social mission to bring out leaders in dementia who are inspiring and contributing to flourishing communities. bold CIC will balance profit generation with positive societal impact, while upholding ethical practices and community engagement to recognise our vision of a world where living with dementia doesn’t matter for who we are as people or how we live our lives. What does bold CIC hope to achieve? Dementia can significantly impact the lives of people who have a diagnosis. This includes stigma, social isolation and a lack of meaningful connection to their community due to a lack of understanding and awareness and an unequal community culture. There is some way to go to create an equal playing field where people living with dementia can remain active, productive, independent, and socially connected across generations for as long as possible. We have seen the difference that bold makes first hand on the lives of people living with dementia and want that difference to reach out and benefit more people. We want to find innovative ways to push the boundaries, scale up our impact and be market leaders of positive social change for people living with dementia. We want to explore a sustainable approach to achieving this impact. We will explore developing and marketing discretely packaged bold products, generating sufficient revenue to scale and sustain the programme whilst offering our products free of charge to those living with dementia. We hope to grow a movement of leaders in communities and challenge the common view of dementia as a personal tragedy shared only by close family members. We hope to replace this with the understanding that flourishing is achievable for everyone, that we are all living with dementia in different ways and can all make positive contributions. How can I get involved? To find out more or see how you can get involved visit the bold website.You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram to keep up to date with our work.
