Allergy awareness campaign in Copenhagen To engage public interest prior to the EAACI Congress, Astma-Allergi Danmark launched the campaign “Trapped by Allergy”, where two individuals were trapped in a box placed in front of the Danish Parliament in Copenhagen. The ‘prisoners’ attracted attention and handed out flyers to passers-by with information on allergy. EAACI made a presentation of the campaign. [caption id="attachment_5407" align="aligncenter" width="530"]
An allergy "prison" in Copenhagen served to inform about the daily life of allergic patients.[/caption] Candidates support public funding for healthier school environment in Sweden The Swedish http://astmaoallergiforbundet.se/ has published a survey on school environment support among parliamentary candidates, ahead of the general election that will take place in the country in September 14 this year. Indoor air quality remains an issue in Sweden where only four out of ten school and nursery buildings had approved ventilation control and that four out of ten schools had moisture damage that can affect the indoor environment negatively, according to a study from the Swedish National Housing Board. Candidate parliamentarians in Sweden seem concern about this topic as demonstrated by Astma och Allergi Förbundet survey: six out of ten would support the introduction of state aid to local governments to improve the school's physical environment. 
“The state should take greater responsibility for all pupils, including those with asthma and allergies, to further enable their success at school. We are therefore pleased that six of ten parliamentary candidates want to see a state aid to municipalities to renovate schools with poor indoor air quality” declared Maritha Sedvallson, President of Astma och Allergi Förbundet in an interview at TV4. Breathless journalists in Portugal [caption id="attachment_5409" align="alignright" width="186"]
Portuguese journalists' kit to feel COPD daily-life difficulties.[/caption] During the World No Tobacco Day (31st May), RESPIRA organized an awareness campaign amongst journalists around chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the difficulties COPD patients experience. RESPIRA challenged participant journalists to breath with a nose clip, through a straw and, this way, understand how difficult it is to breath normally and perform the basic daily tasks, such as dressing, taking a bath, driving or climb up stairs. “I've done the test and even got a headache! It is a terrible, tremendous effort and I'm sitting in a chair doing nothing! Imagine experiencing climb a ladder or holding our grandson … Great campaign!” Cláudia Marques, Jornal Médico “It is not pleasant. I was able to take the test, but I think that what made it easier was to know that I was going to do it just once. To imagine this form of breathing, all the time, everyday is really scary!” Carla Mendes, Jornal Destak Danish MPs participated in a prick test event With the purpose of creating a political focal point on allergy ahead of the 2014 EAACI Congress, Astma-Allergi Danmark collaborated with the Gentofte Hospital offering prick tests to Danish Member of Parliament. Many of them were tested and interviewed about their approach to allergy problems in Denmark. The results were alarming: out of 22 parliamentarians tested, 1 in 3 presented an allergy. [caption id="attachment_5411" align="aligncenter" width="486"]
Parliamentarian Inger Støjberg from Venstre - The Liberal Party of Denmark - having the test.[/caption] More than a new name for Federasma e Allergie EFA’s Italian member Federasma has changed its name towards “FederASMA e ALLERGIE Onlus – Federazione Italiana Pazienti”. Created in 1994, Federasma e Allergie in its short name, represents italian asthma and allergy patients. [caption id="attachment_5410" align="aligncenter" width="240"]
New logo from Italian FederAsma e Allergie.[/caption]