Skip to content
Medical Health Aged Care

FOR TOMORROW TUESDAY 20 AUGUST: Australian-first, Hold the Moment podcast by people living with dementia – Launch event at Sydney Opera House

Dementia Australia 2 mins read

Dementia Australia will officially launch Hold the Moment, a podcast by people living with dementia to help others know they are not alone, at the Sydney Opera House on Tuesday 20 August.

At the event Dementia Australia Patron Ita Buttrose AC OBE will lead a panel discussion with some of the courageous and passionate podcasters including co-hosts Jim Rogers, who is living with younger onset dementia, and respected journalist and broadcaster Hamish Macdonald, whose father has dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson’s.

B-roll, photo opportunities, BTS development footage and spokespeople are available on request.

Date: Tuesday 20 August 2024

Time: 9.30am arrival for a 10.00 – 11.30am event

Location: Sydney Opera House, Utzon Room

Panel facilitator:

  • Ita Buttrose AC OBE, Dementia Australia Patron

Panel speakers:

  • Jim Rogers, Hold the Moment co-host, living with younger onset dementia (based in Brisbane)
  • Hamish Macdonald, Hold the Moment co-host, journalist and broadcaster (based in Sydney)
  • Heather Cooper, podcaster, living with dementia (based in Bealiba, Victoria)

Other podcasters available at event:

  • Catherine Daskalakis, living with younger onset dementia (based in Sydney)
  • Pam Eade, living with younger onset dementia (based in Granya, Victoria)
  • Juanita Hughes, living with younger onset dementia (based in Brisbane)
  • Dominique O’Leary, former carer for person living with dementia (based in Brisbane)
  • Ann Pietsch, living with dementia (based in Adelaide)
  • Anthony Pollock, living with dementia (based in Adelaide)

Dementia Australia spokesperson:

  • Professor Tanya Buchanan, Dementia Australia CEO

Other podcasters available:

  • Associate Professor Stephanie Rainey-Smith, neuroscientist (available remotely, based in Perth)
  • Professor Nola Ries, co-founder of the Dementia Law Network, experienced legal and social researcher (based in Sydney)

 

-Ends-

 

 

Note to Editors:

Follow Hold the Moment wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen to the Hold the Moment trailer here www.dementia.org.au/podcast.

Hold the Moment is produced by Deadset Studios. Dementia Australia acknowledges and appreciates the support of the Australian Government for this initiative.

Episodes one and two of the seven-part series are available from Tuesday 20 August, with further episodes dropping weekly, in the lead-up to Dementia Action Week, which is from 16-22 September.

 

Dementia Australia is the source of trusted information, education and services for the estimated more than 421,000 Australians living with dementia, and the more than 1.6 million people involved in their care. We advocate for positive change and support vital research. We are here to support people impacted by dementia, and to enable them to live as well as possible. No matter how you are impacted by dementia or who you are, we are here for you.

For support, please contact the National Dementia Helpline on 1800 100 500. An interpreter service is available. The National Dementia Helpline is funded by the Australian Government. People looking for information can also visit dementia.org.au

Media contacts: Stephen O’Connell Media & Communications Advisor, 0402 284 257, [email protected] | Catherine McCarthy Media & Communications Advisor, 0466 796 201, [email protected]

When talking or writing about dementia please refer to Dementia-Friendly Language Guidelines.

More from this category

  • Medical Health Aged Care
  • 15/12/2025
  • 15:11
Byron Medical Pty Ltd

Byron Medical Announces the Product Release of BlancOne: a Science-Powered Breakthrough Redefining In-Chair Whitening Technology

BRISBANE, Australia, Dec. 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Byron Medical is excited to announce their exclusive distribution of BlancOne, a system developed with cutting-edge photochemistry and biophotonics that is rewriting the rules of professional whitening. Gone are the 60-minute sessions, uncomfortable gingival barriers, and days of post-op sensitivity. Instead, patients achieve noticeably whiter smiles - up to 5 VITA shades brighter - after a single 10-minute treatment, with no pain and no sensitivity.Science That Shines: The Power of Photons Over Peroxide Traditional whitening relies heavily on high concentrations of hydrogen peroxide - often causing enamel dehydration and post-treatment sensitivity in…

  • Medical Health Aged Care
  • 15/12/2025
  • 13:55
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF)

ANMF condemns Bondi Beach mass shootings

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) has expressed its deepest sorrow at the horrific mass shooting at Bondi Beach last night which has claimed so many innocent lives. We condemn this senseless act of targeted violence on people attending community celebrations for the first night of Hanukkah. The ANMF and our members stand in solidarity with the Jewish Australian community and the people of Bondi who have been touched by this tragedy. We condemn this act of extreme violence, hatred and anti-Semitism. Our deepest condolences are with the grieving families and friends of the victims’ of last night’s horrific…

  • Medical Health Aged Care
  • 15/12/2025
  • 11:04
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF)

ANMF condemns Bondi Beach mass shootings

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) has expressed its deepest sorrow at the horrific mass shooting at Bondi Beach last night which has claimed so many innocent lives. We condemn this senseless act of targeted violence on people attending community celebrations for the first night of Hannukah. The ANMF and our members stand in solidarity with the Jewish Australian community and the people of Bondi who have been touched by this tragedy. We condemn this act of extreme violence, hatred and anti-Semitism. Our deepest condolences are with the grieving families and friends of the victims’ of last night’s horrific…

Media Outreach made fast, easy, simple.

Feature your press release on Medianet's News Hub every time you distribute with Medianet. Pay per release or save with a subscription.