The European Association for Educational and Preventive Health in Epigenetics (AESEP), an official partner of Active Citizenship Network, and a supporter of the European Parliament Interest Group on Patients' Rights and Cross-border Healthcare, promoted the celebration of the XVI European Patients' Rights Day at the national level in Portugal, together with the Chronic Pain Association of the Azores, also an official ACN partner. For the occasion, the Director of Active Citizenship Network has been invited in the panel. The national celebration of the 2022 European Patients’ Rights Day took place on the 18th of April in a virtual format. Each year the theme is adapted to the emerging needs of the public health scenario of the country. This year, AESEP focused on “Women's Health - The Future of Health in Europe - Innovating in Prevention and Well-Being”.
Active Citizenship Network’s Portuguese historical partner Associação de Doentes de Dor Crónica dos Açores (Chronic Pain Association of the Azores) celebrated the European Patients’ Rights Day 2022 at the local level in the Azores Islands. The theme chosen was "Mental Health as Prevention of Suffering in Chronic Diseases: strategies and testimonies" and, for the occasion, invited the Patients Association Força 3P from Oporto to the online webinar, which will take place on the 19th of April at 18:00 AZOT.
The Swedish patients’ association FOKUS Patient, which is an official partner of Active Citizenship Network, organized three digital seminars from 19 to 21 April at lunchtime, from 12:00 to 13:00 CEST, dedicated to the right to information and the right to consent, which are Articles 3 and 4 of the European Charter of Patient’s Rights, drafted by Active Citizenship Network in 2002. The aim of the seminars was to address the relationship between access to information and patients’ rights in a Swedish context.
The XV European Patients’ Rights Day has been celebrated with a virtual event by Active Citizenship Network with its traditional format of a big multi-stakeholder conference focused on the role played by key actors in the decision-making process on health priorities. In particular, just before the end of the Conference on the future of Europe, the expectations and requests of citizens and Patients Advocacy Groups (PAGs) addressed to the institutions have been analysed. The first day of the 2022 conference was dedicated to the presentation to the EU Institutions of the outputs of the themes that emerged from health-related initiatives organized in the framework of the Conference on the Future of Europe. During the second day the discussion focused on analysing the actual level of citizen involvement by the Member States close to the approval by the European Commission of most of the NRRPs and their implementation at national level. Read more
Active Citizenship Network is glad to announce that a Memorandum of Understanding has been recently formalized with Together for Life (TFL), an Albanian nongovernmental and not-for-profit organization aiming at the development and empowerment of people, the protection of health rights, and the building of civil society at the national level, with a particular focus on vulnerable communities, including communities living in remote or economically less advantaged areas, women and youth.
Cittadinanzattiva is engaged in a project to promote at the European level the importance of access to advanced therapies by the highest possible number of patients in the light of the fact that by 2030 there could be as many as 60 advanced therapies that could change the life of 350 thousand patients, but to do this, the accounting system must be changed.
To raise awareness of this need, which is at the same time a great opportunity, Cittadinanzattiva, thanks to its EU branch Active Citizenship Network, will organize the following events: a training webinar, a call to action aimed at European decision-makers, and a policy dialogue with the EU Institutions and the involvement of the key stakeholders.
The general objective is to promote the importance of advanced therapies bringing the issue of access to the attention of the patient and civic associations and create consensus regarding the "Italian solution", that is, the fact of accounting for expenditure as a multi-year investment and not as a current expenditure (like a drug that runs out of results in the very short term). Stimulating widespread awareness of the rights to personalized treatments, innovation, and access. Promoting empowerment on the issue of advanced therapies. Strengthening, on the subject, the coalition between Patient and Citizen Associations in Italy and Europe. For further information consult the LinkedIn page or the project webpages (EN – IT versions).
Invited by the EU Commission, on the 1st of June 2022, Active Citizenship Network will take part in the ECI Network Gathering – Connecting your ideas in Brussels. The Networking Gathering brings together ECI National Contact Points, ECI ambassadors, members of the European Economic and Social Committee ECI group, representatives of the ECI Forum as well as experts from the European Commission, the European Parliament, Europe Direct Centres and other relevant stakeholders.
In this interactive meeting, we will have the chance to meet the other members of the network, share our experiences and tips from our national/professional context about communicating about active citizenship and democracy in general and the ECI in particular, and make suggestions regarding how the network could most effectively work together to make the ECI better known.
The European Commission aims to gather a collection of action points and replicable ideas to share after the event within the ECI network. We are invited to already reflect on the examples you want to bring into the wider group, to co-create the final output.
As Member of the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum, Active Citizenship Network will join its next General Assembly that will take place online on 24 May 2022. In the past days the forum has launched an anti-war initiatives of Forum members and partners. For further information please consult their website.
Cittadinanzattiva through its EU branch Active Citizenship Network is involved in the European Project NUDGE (NUDging consumers towards enerGy Efficiency through behavioral science) and related to this we will participate in the call to host Sustainable Energy Days that is now open. Taking place between June and September this year, Sustainable Energy Days bring the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) 2022 to the heart of local communities, showing citizens how they can join the clean energy transition. Events can take place online or physically, anywhere around the world, as long as its focus is on renewable energy or energy efficiency. From awareness-raising to public discussions, workshops, and debates, organizers are encouraged to get creative with the format of their event and aim for an interactive approach: inspire audiences to play an active role in the promotion of renewable energy.
Active Citizenship Network has recently formalized an official partnership with the Azorean Diabetic Association of St Michael and Sta Maria, a non-profit institution aimed in combating and supporting the treatment of diabetes, and promoting training, prevention and scientific research in the field of diabetes. Active Citizenship Network and the Diabetic Association of St Michael and Sta Maria have agreed to collaborate at the EU level to raise awareness on the needs surrounding patient care and patients’ quality of life, focusing on patients suffering from chronic diseases, and to accelerate the participation of patients in European public policies, activities, and dialogues to foster research and development on patients’ rights.