Summit meeting
After weeks of planning, the first “Move
for Change” advocacy summit meeting took place in Amsterdam on the 30th
June 2009. The meeting witnessed the gathering together of many of the
key players from the world of Parkinson’s disease from across Europe as
well as presentations from Professor Fabrizio Stocchi (MD, PHD) from
Italy and Professor Bastiaan Bloem (MD, PHD) from the Netherlands.
The
objective of the meeting was to assess the current Parkinson’s
environment in Europe specifically in light of the launch of the EPDA Charter for People with Parkinson's Disease and Global Declaration
twelve years ago. Discussion was orientated towards whether the group
felt that the aims of the Charter had been addressed and if not, what
specific activities could be implemented to ensure that change is
finally realised.
The meeting encouraged much discussion and
debate, and three separate practical breakout sessions resulted in the
development of thoughtful, creative ideas which would put the spotlight
firmly back onto Parkinson’s not only in the media but ultimately on a
political level.
The meeting was supported by an educational grant from Solvay.
