- The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) launches ‘The Future In Your Hands’ – a new campaign for World Arthritis Day 2016 – which asks people to share stories on how they have taken action to live their life to the fullest with a rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease and support others to do so
- A selection of stories will be included in a montage video to be released on World Arthritis Day, 12 October 2016
- Over 120 million people in the European Union are affected by rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases
Sofia, Bulgaria (15 April 2016): EULAR and the Standing Committee of PARE (People with Arthritis/Rheumatism) has launched ‘The Future In Your Hands’ for World Arthritis Day 2016. ‘The Future In Your Hands’ is a brand new social media campaign aiming to inform people around the world on the burden of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases and why taking action is so important, by sharing inspirational stories crowdsourced through the World Arthritis Day website and via social media.
Following the success of the 2015 ‘High 5 for World Arthritis Day’ campaign, which saw thousands of people around the world show their support for the cause with a virtual high five, EULAR is asking people to share images or Instagram videos of their hands taking action to bring their personal stories to life. Over 120 million people in the European Union are affected by rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases,1 ‘The Future In Your Hands’ aims to bring these people into the spotlight and educate others to shape a brighter future for all affected.
Dieter Wiek, Chair of the EULAR Standing Committee of PARE, explains “This campaign will provide much needed education to people around the world on the truth of living with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. It will celebrate the work carers and patients do every day to take action. We also hope it will encourage healthcare teams to diagnose these conditions early and ensure policy makers understand the full extent of these conditions and the impact they have on society.”
The campaign was officially launched during the EULAR Annual European Conference of PARE (15-17 April) in Sofia, Bulgaria, with more than 120 invited delegates from 33 countries.
Taking part in ‘The Future In Your Hands’ campaign as an individual or an organisation is easy: upload your story to the World Arthritis Day website alongside a photo of your hands taking action. Alternatively you can upload your story and image to social media using the hashtag #WADStory.
For more information and to get involved please visit the World Arthritis Day website.
About RMDs
There are over 200 different rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases which affect a quarter of all people in the European Union – that’s over 120 million people – more individuals than any other disease group. They can affect people of all ages including children and babies and if not treated appropriately, daily activities such as walking, climbing stairs, cooking and personal hygiene and working are affected – reducing quality of life and impacting on physical abilities.
About EULAR
EULAR is an umbrella organisation which represents scientific societies, health professional associations and organisations for people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases throughout Europe. EULAR aims to reduce the burden of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases on individuals and society and to improve the treatment, prevention and rehabilitation of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. To this end, EULAR fosters excellence in education and research in the field of rheumatology. It promotes the translation of research advances into daily care and fights for the recognition of the needs of people with musculoskeletal diseases by the governing bodies in Europe through advocacy action.
To find out more about the activities of EULAR, visit: www.eular.org
If any questions, please contact:
EULAR Secretariat
Communications Manager: [email protected]
+41 (0) 44 716 30 38
1. Questions and answers on rheumatic diseases fact sheet. EULAR. Available at: http://www.eular.org/myUploadData/files/Q-and-A-on-RMDs.pdf
