On August 26th, Hanyang University’s Global Social Innovation Center(Director Shin Hyun-sang) announced that ‘Dementia Café D-Cafe Activation and Policy Living Lab Workshop’ was held on August 22 at Eisai Korea’s headquarters, hhceco, in Gangnam.

The workshop was organized as part of the course “The Journey of Global Social Innovation: Concepts, Approaches, and Case Studies,” taught by Adjunct Professor Han Sun-kyung (CEO of Cdot) in the Department of Social Innovation. Attendees included Hanyang University students, Yoon Se-hee (Secretary-General of the Seoul Metropolitan Center for Dementia), Park Ok-hyun (Deputy Director of the Seongdong-gu Dementia Care Center), and Kim Eun-jung (Head of the Hanyang Global Social Innovation Team), along with field practitioners and policymakers who discussed feasibility and strategies for expansion.

Dementia Café ‘D-Cafe’ is a dementia care living lab jointly created by Eisai Korea, the Alzheimer’s Association Korea, and the Korean Network of Living Labs(KNoLL). It serves as a community space where dementia patients and their families can participate in customized programs which provide psychological support and strengthen care systems. As of 2024, it was held 59 times across 7 institutions in 5 regions nationwide, engaging a total of 1,842 participants. Eisai Korea is currently conducting experiments to institutionalize D-Cafe as a local hub for dementia response.

During the workshop, Hanyang University students proposed policy ideas to promote the activation of D-Cafe, based on Eisai Korea’s social innovation agenda, and reviewed their feasibility with field experts. The ‘Kkamppak(a Korean word meaning to forget) Team’ suggested an operating model built on collaboration between Dementia Care Centers and Dementia-Friendly Schools, while the “D-Light Team” proposed detailed solutions such as utilizing vacant houses in urban and rural areas, introducing certification programs, developing shared timetables, and offering rentals of outdoor spaces. Both teams also produced storytelling content, including monologue-style videos and four-cut cartoons, to strengthen their policy proposals. Their ideas were praised for creativity and practicality.

Seo Jeong-ju, Director of Eisai Korea, stated, “This workshop gave us the chance to test creative and actionable dementia policy ideas. We will continue to pursue social innovation activities to build a stronger dementia care ecosystem.”

Professor Han Sun-kyung of Hanyang University added, “Through this process, students engaged with diverse stakeholders around the issue of aging, built mutual understanding, and explored structural approaches leveraging existing policies to improve policy effectiveness. I hope these ideas further evolve into models that can be realized within local communities.