Highlights from World MS Day

For this year’s World MS Day, MS organisations around the world enjoyed an exciting range of events and achievements, from successful lobbying to live-streamed dance performances.

Here’s a look at how some of our members marked the day.

Norway

The MS Association of Norway got creative this year by organising an outdoor photo exhibition in central Oslo to raise public awareness of MS and break down prejudices.

Opened by the city’s mayor, “P.S. I have MS” showed how six people live with MS, spreading the message that every person with MS is more than just a diagnosis.

Portugal

Further south, the Portuguese MS Society held an impressive 17 events nationwide. Events included a medical conference in Lisbon, debates across multiple cities, a “Health Day” in Viseu, an MS simulation in Colombo shopping mall and a national media campaign featuring bodysurf champion Miguel Rocha, who has MS.

Switzerland

The Swiss MS Society dazzled members of the public with live performances across seven locations nationwide. In Sion, Zug, Bern, Chur, Basel, Lausanne and Bellinzona, people gathered to form the word “SIGNAL!” to raise awareness of MS. Each formation was live-streamed to large screens in Zurich, where crowds gathered to watch a captivating dance performance.

Ireland

MS Ireland held a range of events of all shapes and sizes for World MS Day, from coffee mornings to MS Walks. In Dublin, the focus was on advocacy, with people rallying around for a special lobbying event in the Irish government building, Leinster House. The event represented a wider effort by MS Ireland to push key issues on its advocacy agenda, such as the need to invest in underfunded neurology services. The organisation also launched a new report on MS and quality of life.

Australia

MS Australia made the voices of people with MS heard in the Australian Parliament, with multiple sclerosis and World MS Day featuring in a bipartisan parliamentary motion in the Senate.

The team even managed to get high-profile politicians to support their World MS Day social media activity by formally registering the “Parliamentary Friends of Multiple Sclerosis”, a group of 10 parliamentarians who agreed to support World MS Day on social media.

Read more about World MS Day 2017.