International awareness days are an opportunity to educate the general public on specific issues. Especially for patient organisations, it is a great possibility to mobilise political will and resources and to celebrate and reinforce achievements.
Some of the biggest international awareness days are the international women’s day (8th March), water day (22nd March), or day of peace (September 21st).
Yet, there are also awareness days specific for diseases, such as World Asthma Day and World COPD Day. These represent an important moment for patient groups and it is important to plan all activities and events carefully to create momentum and maximise visibility.
Capacity Building provides guidance on awareness days
In a Capacity Building session in the beginning of September, we discussed how to leverage international days at the national level. The webinar stressed in particular on the importance of media relations and how to attract journalists.
In the webinar we also analysed case studies and practical examples. A current case presented has been the second Atopic Eczema Day, organized by EFA on September 14th, which was a big success at national and international level.