Kate Swaffer, PhD Candidate at the University of South Australia. Also an independent researcher, speaker, educator, author, and an award-winning Disability Rights Campaigner including being the SA Australian of the Year in 2017.

I campaign for the disability and human rights of people with dementia and older persons globally. Kate has a Master of Science in Dementia Care, a Bachelor of Psychology, a Bachelor of Arts, all completed after her own diagnosis of a rare young onset dementia, and a graduate diploma in grief counselling and am also a retired nurse. I’m a co-founder of and human rights advisor to Dementia Alliance International, an international charity providing advocacy and support for the more than 57 million people with dementia globally, working locally, nationally, and internationally, including with the WHO and UN. I am an Honorary Associate Fellow with the Faculty of Science, Medicine & Health, at the University of Wollongong and an Ambassador for the Australia Day Council and StepUp For Dementia Research. I’m the past CEO and Chair of DAI and past elected board member of Alzheimer’s Disease International, and a past elected member of the World Dementia Council. Recent academic publications include ‘Reparations for Harms Experienced in Residential Aged Care’, ‘Questioning segregation of people living with dementia in Australia: an international human rights approach to care homes’, ‘A call to action for the improved identification, diagnosis, treatment, and care of people with young onset dementia’ and ‘Health Professional Perspectives on Rehabilitation for People with Dementia’.