vice a versa. The Society believes that such an alliance is crucial in achieving appropriate creative expression interventions. In addition to the medical description of lost abilities, the Society also feels that there is a need for detailed practical examples that are appropriately designed and conducted with seniors with dementia. The Society stresses the importance of taking the accumulated knowledge from research and practice and directly placing it into the community at large. Roles in Canada and in Australia The Society aims: To advocate for and support people with dementia: To increase advocacy for people with dementia and their caregivers; To provide an interdisciplinary forum for where all can meet and share recent findings, practical experiences and collaborate on innovative approaches; To better understand dementia and how to cope with this condition using creativity; To promote dementia care in the community through creative expression activities; To reach out to practitioners, academics and members of the community at large who provide creative expression programs to seniors with dementia; To encourage artists to seek opportunities in therapeutic services and by doing so, enrich the pool of creative expression programs; To increase awareness among artists, caregivers and political leaders of the importance of creative expression activities in health care; To interact more with people with dementia to support their right to live in dignity; To maintain people with dementia longer at home and within their communities before admitting them to care facilities. Projects and research The Society for the Arts in Dementia Care is frequently highlighted in The Canadian Review of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias, while also being a continual provider of artwork featured on the journal's cover (artwork that is produced by a senior living with dementia). In 2008, both the Canadian and Australian chairs of the Society, Gottlieb-Tanaka and Lee, teamed together with Dr. Peter Graf, a psychology professor at the University of British Columbia and a member of the Society's advisory board, to develop "an assessment tool to gauge the effects of participating in creative programs. The tool explores various areas in which individuals may best express themselves." The tool is currently being used in Canada. In Australia, the tool has been successfully implemented at Maurice Zefferet Home in Perth and it is also being utilized in the work and research of doctoral student Julie Gross McAdam, founder of MacArt: McAdam aged care art recreation therapy, in Melbourne. The