Larry Gardiner

I lead a dementia guerilla charm offensive that aims to confront stigma; to challenge the portrayal of people with a dementia diagnosis; and to re-imagine life with dementia. I have dementia. However, dementia does not define me; it is just a disorder that affects me.

We have become accustomed to view individuals with dementia as being defined by their symptoms. We want to encourage policy makers, commissioners, clinicians, practitioners, social workers, care providers and professionals in every area to relate with us as people first and to see disorders affecting us as separate. The features of our personhood are not de

I love my work! I have the best job in the world. Every day I get the chance to make a difference; often in just very small ways. I work as a citizen advocate by helping people to speak up and to advocate for themselves, by helping them to develop common cause through peer-advocacy partnerships. Anyone can learn how to become more effective as an advocate for themselves and for their loved ones. This is a skill. It can be learned. I work as a dementia activist supporting the creation of independent, autonomous user led dementia working groups.

Every aspect of humanity is unique.I enjoy being a human and I enjoy having human connections. Everything I do is aligned to these goals:

1. To help end the practice of humans hurting other humans.
2. To bring humanity to organisations.
3. To give a voice to the human beings who never get heard!
4. To engage and ally myself with every human committed to the same goals.
5. To be the best human being I can be.

I’m in the middle of several projects right now, however consideration will be given to specific, limited-time engagements and I'm always happy to refer opportunities within my extensive network of collaborators and consulting associates. I'm especially interested in opportunities involving collaborations within and across EU countries. I only work on seriously innovative projects in my areas of interest (advocacy, leadership, governance, social capital, capacity building, and disruptive technologies). I generally prefer board roles working with social entrepreneurs that also have the goal of improving the world we live in. I prefer NGOs, social enterprises and non-profit organisations that are innovating in the area of communication, to improve their impact and reach across society. I'm especially passionate about user led organisations. I only work where I can follow my heart.