Becoming part of the global movement

Every year we here at World MS Day HQ (MSIF offices in London) get excited about the events that are taking place for World MS Day all over the world. Until now we have really focused on the events organised by MS organisations but this year we would love to hear from other organisations and people affected by MS who are organising their own events and activities too!

WMSD 2013: Young people and MS

This year’s campaign will focus on young people. At a time when young people may be starting new careers, relationships and making plans for the future, being diagnosed with a chronic and potentially disabling disease like MS can lead them to re-evaluate everything they know.

This May, six inspiring young people from around the world will share the mottos that give them strength. We will also be asking visitors to the WMSD website to share their own mottos for life around three themes: identity, relationships and the future. So start thinking about your mottos!

Why get involved?

The aim of World MS Day is to raise awareness of Multiple Sclerosis amongst those who know very little about the disease. Our target audience may never have even heard of  ‘MS’ before. MS organisations tell us that people with MS would like other people to understand what MS is and how it affects them. Improving public support and understanding can go a long way towards improving opportunities in employment and education, as well as setting the groundwork for policy-change objectives and fundraising.  Creating an environment where people understand what MS is may mean that lack of coordination is no longer seen as drunkenness and that fatigue is not perceived as laziness.

Being part of a global campaign means that you have the support of thousands of people all working towards achieving the same goals. You have access to ready made materials, a theme, and messages that you can promote online or at events. It’s so easy to get involved. So what’s stopping you?

What can you do?

Organise an event

Whatever event you decide to hold- cake sale, fun run, jumble sale, film screening, music night- use this as an opportunity to share information about MS. If you’re holding a public event think about how you will explain what MS is and how it affects people. It’s a complex disease so try to simplify it for those who only have a few minutes to speak to you.

This year we are asking everyone who takes part to incorporate the 2013 global action: ‘Mottoos’ (motto tattoos). Everyone has mottos that get them through the tough times. On World MS Day we want you to ask people to write their motto tattoos on their bodies, faces or on a piece of paper and to upload a photo to Facebook or Pinterest. We want to create a viral campaign that trends on Twitter and fills pin boards on Pinterest. Help us reach out to millions more people by incorporating this action with you own activities and linking in with the digital World MS Day realm.

To find out more about how to get involved download this leaflet: Get involved

Get involved online

As always there is lots to get involved with on the World MS Day website and social media  channels. The full campaign goes live on the 8th of May so watch out for further communications from the WMSD team. You can share your motto at www.worldmsday.org.

To receive this year’s campaign materials please email [email protected] with a few sentences about your event.