Cittadinanzattiva-Active Citizenship Network, in collaboration with F.A.I.S.-Federation of Incontinent and Ostomised Associations, is glad to invite you to a policy dialogue event that will be held at the EU Parliament in Brussels on 26 March.
The aim of the conference is to identify the commitment of the EU institutions on access to care and the improvement of the quality life of people with intimate health conditions in Europe, with a specific focus on the needs of ostomy patients. A set of civic recommendations - drafted with the direct involvement of PAGs from different Member States - will be presented to all key stakeholders and a social media communication campaign will be launched, with the ultimate goal of making visible the invisible for ostomised people. To read the introductory article just published, click here.
To know more and register to attend the event, click here. For any questions, feel free to contact us.

European Charter of Patients’ Rights: a call to action
Active Citizenship Network is working closely with the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU. The aim is to institutionalise the principles of patients‘ rights at European level, contained in the European Charter of Patients’ Rights, drawn up by Active Citizenship Network in 2002 with civil society and patients' organisations from different Member States, and integrate them into the acquis communautaire. This policy objective has been included in the recently published White Paper “Healthcare Policy Recommendations” and will be discussed at the international conference “10th Health Challenges Congress” in Katowice on 13 and 14 March 2025.  

Share your civic activism experiences in support of the vaccination policy
Active Citizenship Network invites all Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Patient Advocacy Groups (PAGs) to contribute by sharing their civic activism experiences in support of vaccination policy. As part of the #VaccinAction2025 initiative, we are collecting examples of how organizations have kept vaccination awareness high throughout the life-course, through evidence-based campaigns, projects and activities aimed at empowering citizens and improving health literacy on prevention. Your inputs will help create a comprehensive handbook - which will enhance all your logos - and present different national experiences, offering insights, good practices and innovative strategies to improve vaccination policies. We look forward to your valuable contributions! Please complete the online form by 25 April 2025. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. To know more about our long-term commitment to vaccination policies, please click here.

co-OPERATOR at work: a policy lab on the challenges of vaccine promotion.
The co-OPERATOR project, funded under the EU4Health programme, aims to improve communication and knowledge skills to address systemic barriers and facilitators to effectively communicate vaccination messages to populations.
In this context, a policy lab aims to translate evidence from the co-OPERATOR project into actionable vaccination policies to address COVID-19 and flu vaccine hesitancy in the EU. 
At the end of April 2025, two online Policy Lab sessions will be organised, one for citizens and patients and one for health professionals. The ultimate aim is to exchange views with citizen and patient representatives, health professionals, decision-makers and public health experts.
The work stream within the project on translating research evidence into policy recommendations is led by Maastricht University, supported by Active Citizenship Network, the Cyprus University of Technology and the European Centre of Studies and Initiatives (CESIE).

Involving citizens and patients in personalised prevention
Citizen and patient engagement play a key role in the PROPHET project - in which Cittadinanzattiva- Active Citizenship Network (ACN) is a partner - because personalised prevention needs well-informed citizens and patients who are able to make decisions relevant to their care and prevention and to contribute to research. This issue was addressed by researchers at Amsterdam University UMC/VUMC and us the partners representing citizens and patients (ACN and EPF) in the first phase of the project, mapping involvement activities through a scoping review in the fields of research, care, education and patient governance. Most of the scoped articles report mostly unidirectional activities or communications (e.g. surveys), rather than impactful involvement (e.g. patient forums). The full article can be found here: Frontiers | “Engagement of patients and the public in personalised prevention in Europe using genomic information: a scoping review” https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1456853/full

The first joint clinical assessments for ATMPs
On February 18, 2025, the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM), Cancer Patients Europe (CPE), and Fondazione Telethon co-hosted an online webinar on ‘The First Joint Clinical Assessments (JCAs) for Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs): What’s Next?’ The discussion brought together over 50 representatives from more than 30 organisations, including medical societies, developers, civil and patient organisations, including Active Citizenship Network. During the event, experts discussed what we know so far about the first Joint Clinical Assessments for ATMPs; the JCA’s potential to create a new era for patient access to innovation, while discussing and addressing remaining uncertainties and concerns; gather input about the potential implications of the first JCAs, and get perspectives from other patient representatives, medical societies and several developers on the hurdles they encounter; potential solutions and shared advocacy activities for 2025. To know more, click here.

BioReCer: driving the EU bioeconomy through smarter certification
The EU-funded BioReCer (Biological Resources Certifications Schemes) is promoting the EU bioeconomy by improving certification systems for the sustainability, circularity and traceability of biological resources, ensuring a greener and more transparent future. Read the article as part of the communication activities carried out by Cittadinanzattiva/Active Citizenship Network with the support of ACN’s media partner Innovation News Network.

The RESILIAGE project: tackling emergencies by involving communities
RESILIAGE (Advancing holistic understanding of community RESILIence and heritAGE drivers through community-based methodologies) aims to be the answer to the problem of crises and catastrophes that have affected the lives, livelihoods and environment of European citizens in unexpected and unprecedented ways.
This three-year Horizon Europe project contributes to building resilient and sustainable communities with local heritage drivers. In particular, RESILIAGE aims to better understand societal reactions and support community response to crises through a holistic generation of knowledge to improve community resilience and co-model and co-develop new data-based knowledge with local communities in 5 endangered sites (CORE Labs) enhanced by digital tools and soft solutions. The project will produce actionable knowledge on social resilience by demonstrating the benefits and impact of the project solutions in 5 CORE laboratories.
Cittadinanzattiva participates in the project by bringing the point of view of the citizen (in particular of the most vulnerable groups), supporting actions that integrate the participation of local communities for the definition of strategies and the experimentation of the developed tools. Read more (EN – IT)

Official agreement signed with the Federación de Asociaciones de Personas Ostomizadas de España (FAPOE)
Active Citizenship Network is pleased to announce the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Spanish Federation of Ostomised Patients Associations, founded in 2021 and made up of 29 ostomy patient associations from all over the country, all united by common goals, the main one being to achieve the best possible quality of life for ostomised patients. With the recent agreement, FAPOE will participate in the policy dialogue initiative promoted by ACN at the EU Parliament on ostomy on 26 March 2025. Read more about ACN's new partner.

8 April 2025 I Digital Solutions for a Bio-Based Future: Empowering Industry and Consumers
Digital solutions are set to boost the European bioeconomy by providing critical information on feedstock tracking, sustainability, and certification for bio-based products. To showcase these advances, a free webinar hosted by Horizon Europe projects 3-CO and BioReCer (in which Cittadinanzattiva is a partner) will introduce several innovative digital tools. Scheduled for 8 April 2025, from 13:00 to 14:00 CET, the event offers an excellent opportunity to understand the future of digital technologies in the bioeconomy. Four tools developed by EU-funded projects will be presented and made available to users soon. These projects are: 3-CO, BioReCer, Bioradar, and the BiobasedCert Cluster (HARMONITOR, Sustcert4Biobased, Star4bbs). Read more on the webinar and for the free registration, click here.  

15 May 2025 I XIX European Patients’ Rights Day: “Exploring the benefits of health data sharing for patients, healthcare systems and medical research at EU level”
Many people have probably never really thought about what happens to their health data and how it could be used for the common good. It can be difficult to understand how a person's data can impact public health. However, health data sharing is an intricate process, rapidly evolving thanks to technological progress, that holds great promise for the future of healthcare. Strengthening the role of patients and their associations is crucial to the success of this transformation, as they play a key role in raising awareness of the importance of health data.
The European Patients' Rights Day 2025 will focus on a number of critical topics related to health data sharing, its benefits and challenges. The conference titled “Exploring the benefits of health data sharing for patients, healthcare systems and medical research at EU level” will be held at the European Parliament in Brussels on 15 May from 14:30 to 16:30 CEST. Read more. Further information will follow in due course. To find out more and register to participate in the event, click here. For any questions, feel free to contact us.