Active Citizenship Network has signed an official agreement with the European Network of Fibromyalgia Associations(ENFA), whose aim is to promote fibromyalgia awareness among politicians, physicians, scientists and the general public at the European level. The primary goal of the network is to get fibromyalgia as a key topic in the European Health Programme. ACN and ENFA have agreed to cooperate to educate and provide training to citizens, patients, physicians, and all the other relevant stakeholders regarding chronic conditions of patients and have strengthened their partnership to enable advocates to confidently brief policymakers in the field of pain relief.
Active Citizenship Network is happy to announce that it has recently signed a new Memorandum of Understanding with EPECS, a non-profit Dutch foundation that wants to give a voice to the citizens of the EU and wants to engage them in policy development processes. Active Citizenship Network and EPECS will support each other’s initiatives with the objective to promote and accelerate the empowerment and engagement of citizens and patients and their participation in European public policies, activities, and dialogues as a key step towards a more inclusive Europe.
Active Citizenship Network is glad to announce an official new partnership with euPrevent, a Euroregional network that focuses on promoting cross-border health and sustainable partnerships to increase the quality of life of residents in the border region between the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. In this regard, ACN and euPrevent have agreed to collaborate to increase protection of patients’ rights, diminish health inequalities among European Member States, and raise awareness on the needs surrounding patient care and patients’ quality of life.
Active Citizenship Network has recently formalized an agreement with the Cyprus Federation of Patients' Associations (CyFPA), an umbrella organization representing all the organizations of people with chronic and other diseases. CyFPA aims at supporting patients with a strong voice in the Cypriot community and ensuring that patients have access to holistic and equitable social health care, with quality and patient-centeredness. In this regard, Active Citizenship Network and the Cyprus Federation of Patients' Associations have welcomed the opportunity to collaborate to support each other’s initiatives on the empowerment and protection of patients, in particular those affected by chronic and rare diseases. Moreover, ACN and CyFPA will commit to raise awareness on the needs surrounding patient care and patients’ quality of life.
Active Citizenship Network has recently signed a new Memorandum of Understanding with its historical Polish partner Instytut Praw Pacjenta i Edukacji Zdrowotnej, an association aimed at improving the situation of patients, increasing civic awareness of pro-health attitudes and influencing the shaping of national health policy. The Institute also works to integrate the community of patients' organizations, organizes regular meetings with key experts in healthcare, takes an active part in social consultations, and conducts advocacy in cooperation with patients' organizations, among other activities. I
Active Citizenship Network is glad to announce that an official agreement has been signed with Patients' Rights Association in Kosovo (PRAK), an independent non-profit and non-political association focused on promoting a fair healthcare for patients, engaging citizens and patients as equal partners in healthcare, and mobilizing other relevant actors to provide the best possible care for each patient at all times. ACN and PRAK will collaborate to raise awareness on the needs surrounding patient care and patients’ quality of life and to support each other’s initiatives on the topic of reduction of health inequalities, patients’ empowerment, and promotion of public health as a common good.
The European mHealth Hub established by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Regional Ministry of Health of Andalusia (Spain), together with 17 other European partners, to support the integration of mHealth programmes and services into national or regional health systems, is a project funded by the European Commission. Part of the work was to develop a Policy Framework Report aimed to contribute towards developing a policy framework for EU on cross-border adoption and assessment of innovation in mHealth to help pave the way for moving towards a “Single Healthcare Digital Market” in Europe. The Report aims to contribute to the development of a Common Policy Framework for mHealth in Europe, by sharing lessons learnt and recommendations, with the goal of promoting harmonization. Even so, app developers, industries, academia, research institutions and end-users (citizens and healthcare professionals) are seen as key actors for the Policy Framework development, and their role should be highlighted.
Pain Alliance Europe (PAE), of which Cittadinanzattiva/Active Citizenship Network is a Board Member, is delighted to present the third edition of the Brain Mind Pain (BMP) Grant with the theme of “Healthy Sleep for People Living with Brain, Mind and Pain Conditions”. PAE represents the voice of people living with chronic pain. Pain, in a nutshell, is a significant disruptor of overall well-being, quality of daily life, and lifestyle choices. Chronic pain impacts mental health and healthy sleep. The latter is crucial for general health. With this vicious cycle in mind, the BMP Grant aims to explore and provide practical solutions for people living with pain and struggling with healthy sleep. PAE seeks all projects, big or small, that offer functional outcomes for people living with pain. They welcome applicants from various backgrounds, such as patient-centered NGOs, research/academia, medicine, and commercial organizations. Past BMP Grant winners include projects that utilized digital technology, such as an app for monitoring symptoms, an eHealth system with a self-help guide, or a social media campaign. Moreover, the BMP Grant also welcomes offline strategies for healthy sleep. This year, the BMP Grant fund is EUR 60,000.
Staying in control of our lives can be a daily struggle—especially this year, and especially for the half of us who live with a chronic condition. It’s time for a change. It’s time to work together to take back control. One way to start focusing on your health again is to see your doctor but there’s a lot to take in during a consultation with a health practitioner. Preparing yourself for the consultation helps ensure you leave satisfied. Check out www.thisislivingtoday.com to find our guide that helps you to prepare and suggests questions to ask in the session. The initiative and the website have been developed by Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH in collaboration with representatives from patient organizations and other experts, including Active Citizenship Network.
CROPBOOSTER-P is a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) project, of which Cittadinanzattiva/Active Citizenship Network is a Core Stakeholder, supported through the EU Horizon 2020 funding programme. The project, which started on November 1, 2018, is mapping and assessing current and future strategies, methods and technologies for crop improvement. The project mainly aims at new crop varieties in current agricultural practice by aligning the development of these crops with the needs, concerns, wishes and expectations of society. Following a responsible research and innovation (RRI) approach, stakeholders representing all actors of the food system are involved both in designing the blueprints for the future crops, as well as in the developing of the roadmap to successfully introduce the new crops to the users, and to educate the consumers to new paradigms of sustainable agriculture, based on future proofed crops and more efficient resource use.