In memory of dementia activist and campaigner Ron Coleman

Age Scotland’s dementia team were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of dementia activist and campaigner Ron Coleman last month. Over the past 5 years, Ron became an integral part of Age Scotland’s dementia programme and leaves a significant legacy to all those continuing to fight for improving the lives and support for people living with dementia across Scotland.  

In this short piece we wanted to share some of our memories of Ron and provide a space to reflect and pay tribute to all he did to support Age Scotland’s dementia work.

Ron was a hugely influential partner in the development and growth of Age Scotland’s dementia programme since 2020, including the delivery of our 5-year Life Changes Trust funded policy and practice forum ‘About Dementia’. Ron became a central figure in our human rights working group for people living with dementia, using his lived experience to help inform our policy and influencing work. As part of our lived experience working group, Ron led on the creation of a film about the human rights of people living with dementia, which cast people with a diagnosis of dementia in the central roles. This was important in both highlighting the ways that people with dementia have experienced the loss of their rights after a diagnosis, as well as breaking down stigma around what people with dementia can do by having them star in the film. The film can be viewed here: Human Rights and Dementia on Vimeo

“From the moment I met Ron, you could tell that he was a force to be reckoned with. His passion and drive for using his lived experience expertise to inform policy was inspiring to organisations like us but also to other individuals living with dementia to use their voices to influence change.” – Beth, Policy Officer

A key contribution Ron made to Age Scotland’s work was through our grants programme. In 2022, he became a valued member of our lived experience funding panel, bringing a huge amount of passion and experience that has strengthened the collective voice of our panel. His strong belief in and advocacy for meaningful lived experience involvement has been a huge part of our funding decisions and has informed how we deliver our funding programmes.

"Ron’s knowledge, sense of humour, and fiery drive for change have been an endless source of inspiration and support to me since I started with Age Scotland. The colossal legacy he leaves behind is a testament to the momentum he has built in dementia activism and the innumerable people he has inspired to make their own voices heard." – Adam, Grants and Learning Manager

Ron was also a key partner in Age Scotland’s peer-to-peer work and a champion of peer support. In 2021, he launched the Dementia Gathering where only people living with dementia are allowed to speak, and in 2023 he created the groundbreaking Dementia Arts Festival. Age Scotland’s dementia team have been privileged to be invited to be a part of these events as partners and supporters since the beginning. Both are now annual events that continue to grow with new voices each year and will be a longstanding legacy to Ron’s passion and commitment to ensuring lived experience voices are at the heart of decisions, highlighting the importance of peer support and inspiring others to own their diagnosis.

“I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Ron on many dementia related projects and was impressed with his enthusiasm and passion for improvement in dementia services. Ron had great experience of the wider dementia landscape through personal experience of living with dementia and understood the challenges and opportunities for grassroots funding for a variety of services. Ron brought so much to our meetings, experience, knowledge, honesty and not least his great sense of humour, he will be sadly missed by us all. We will continue Ron’s vision and legacy to get the best for people living with dementia and their carers.” – Myra, Member of the Dementia Lived Experience Forum

You can find out more about Age Scotland's dementia services here.