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Monthly Newsletter edited by Cittadinanzattiva-Active Citizenship Network
Civic Activism | Patients' Rights | Consumers' Rights | Support ACN
Year 9th, number 97 - December 2021
Highlight

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Active Citizenship Network (ACN) is glad to invite you on the 17 of December 2021 from 11.00 to 12.30 CET to the event titled “Addressing the challenges of concomitant deployment of  COVID-19 and influenza vaccination”.
It will be held in the framework of the cycle of EU Webinars «Health at the heart of the future of Europe», which ACN is holding to feed the debate of the Conference for the Future of Europe and it will include the presentation of the results of the II Survey realized in different EU countries for the project: Protecting the value of vaccination during -and after- the COVID-19 pandemic across Europe: impact, experiences and perspectives from citizens’ and patients’ advocacy groups & relevant stakeholders.
It will discuss the different national experiences of this new FLU (INFLUENZA) vaccination campaign and the concomitant deployment of COVID-19 vaccination, with concrete suggestions from patient organizations, health care professionals, and EU and national institutions.
This multi-stakeholder event (civil society, patients, experts, institutions) has the aim to discuss the survey results: a reflection moment, a confrontation between the involved stakeholders to understand if there are common aspects observed, good and bad practices, and to find proposals.
Why a webinar? The aim is to build a broad picture of this challenging moment in different countries. Moreover, to identify, thanks to the discussion and to the online questionnaire compiled, the main issues and recommendations that emerged from the information gathered; demonstrate what this community can offer in terms of raising awareness about the phenomenon, enhancing the body of knowledge of positive cases and successful experiences, and strengthening commitment to this topic.
We won’t collect statistical data, but we use the survey as a sort of “online focus group” (that we cannot carry out in person) to bring out the opinions and concerns of the various stakeholders involved, in the different countries. Join us HERE!
For more information, please write to d.quaggia@activecitizenship.net

To know more:

The Engagement of Cittadinanzattiva in vaccination

Focus

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on non-communicable and chronic patients’ therapeutic adherence across Europe

CLICK HERE TO FILL IN THE EU SURVEY

After nearly two years it is still urgent to better address the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. Evidence collected during the crisis show that Covid-19 has had a significant impact also on non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Indeed, oncological and chronic patients have been left almost alone for months.
In line with its long-term commitment on therapeutic adherence, Active Citizenship Network (ACN) is launching an EU Survey with the aim to better contribute – starting from the citizens’ and patients’ perspective – on understanding the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on non-communicable and chronic patients’ therapeutic adherence.
The aim is to enlighten experienced difficulties, unmet needs, and new expectations in terms of continuity of care, access and adherence to therapies from the patient associations’ & advocacy groups’ perspective towards more resilient healthcare systems. DEADLINE: December 9th, 2021.
The questionnaire - realized in the framework of the EU project “Therapeutic adherence during the COVID-19 pandemic across Europe: impact, experiences and perspectives from PAGs & relevant stakeholders” - is directed to patient associations & advocacy groups with the objective to collect information on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the adherence to therapies and the access to healthcare systems in their context, based on their experiences and on the information they received, without referring to specific pathologies and starting from patients affected by chronic and non-communicable diseases.
Your participation is very much appreciated as it will allow us to collect a greater amount of information.
Please note that the survey is anonymous and it takes no more than a few minutes to be filled out.

For further information, please contact: b.ferraiolo@cittadinanzattiva.it

To know more:

- The engagement of Cittadinanzattiva-Active Citizenship Network on Therapeutic Adherence

News
Patients' Rights

This is Living” communication campaign
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 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 others experts. We have all together gathered a selection of resources that can prove helpful for those living with a wide variety of chronic conditions. Each is designed to give you practical lifestyle tips on your journey toward a healthier life. Download the brochure on chronic conditions realized with the cooperation of Active Citizenship Network.

Far from being a cost, older Italians are significantly contributing to the economy
A new report published by the International Longevity Centre (ILC) UK this week finds that older people’s contributions are significant, and growing. Key findings include:

- In Italy, people aged 50 and over already account for more than 1 in 3 workers (35% of the workforce) – this could rise to 59% by 2035.

- Older households (headed by people aged 50+) spend over 6 in 10 euros in the Italian economy, making up 30% of GDP in 2015.

- The value of older Italians’ unpaid contributions, such as volunteering and caring, if renumerated, is over $50bn.

But these contributions are underpinned by good health. So investing in health, and prevention in particular, will be vital for the post-pandemic recovery. Read the full report and recommendations here.

European mHealth Innovation and Knowledge Hub
The European mHealth Innovation and Knowledge Hub, funded by the European Commission, was established by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Regional Ministry of Health of Andalusia (Spain), along with other 17 European partners. Its aim is to collect and share national experiences on mHealth and to support the integration of mHealth programmes and services into the various national and regional health systems. Part of the work was to develop a set of knowledge toolkits to provide advice/guidance on large-scale implementation of mHealth services and interventions.
In this regard, the topic of the third toolkit (KT3) is the integration of mHealth into health systems, with particular interest in large-scale ’real-world’ approaches, integration with EHRs, governance mechanisms to implement it, interoperability, reimbursement, etc. The European mHealth Hub has produced the KT3 report which takes stock of existing experiences on this topic in Europe, as well as a repository, open to any other relevant experience in integrating mHealth solutions into the healthcare system in Europe.
If you would like to contribute to the repository, you can share your experiences by providing a title and a short description (1-2 paragraphs) to info@mhealth-hub.org. To know more, click here.

Consumers' Rights

Understanding energy consumers’ behaviour to design nudging interventions: first dive into NUDGE
All the documents linked with the 1st EU-founded project NUDGE webinar, realized last 9 Nov 2021, are online! If you'd like to see the survey results about consumer behaviour in Europe, watch the recording and download all the presentations.
Cittadinanzattiva was involved in the collection of data from EU citizens. This activity was carried out by its EU branch called Active Citizenship Network (ACN), who wishes to thank the following associations tied to its constituency for the fruitful cooperation: CEIP-Centar Za Edukaciju I Informiranje Potrošača/Center for Education and Consumer Information (Croatia), HUZP-Hrvatska Udruga Za Zaštitu Potrošača/Croatian Association For Consumer Protection (Croatia), INDECOSA-Information Et Défense Des Consommateurs Salariés (France), IFOK (Germany), EEKE-Ένωση Εργαζομένων Καταναλωτών Ελλάδοσ/Union of Working Consumers (Greece), Talented Borders (Latvia), Asociacija Vartotojų Teisių Gynimo Centras/Lithuanian Consumer Association (Lithuania), Ghaqda Tal-Konsumaturi/Consumers’ Association of Malta (Malta), Association for Consumer Rights (Malta), INFOCONS–Protecția Consumatorilor (Romania),
Asociácia Spotrebiteľských Subjektov Slovenska/Association of Consumer Organization in Slovakia (Slovakia), ZPS-Zveza Potrošnikov Slovenije/Slovene Consumers’ Association (Slovenia), CONSUMUR-Asociación de Consumidores y Usuarios en Red (Spain), ECU-European Consumer Union (EU ombrella organization). To download the document, click here.

17-19 November 2021: NUDGE Project Consortium
On November 17th, 18th and 19th the NUDGE Project Consortium meeting took place in Ghent, Belgium. During the three-days assembly, all the Partners - including an Active Citizenship Network/Cittadinanzattiva representative - discussed the state of the art of the project, exchanging opinions, suggestions and evaluating the work done so far and the next steps to be implemented to carry out the next steps of the project. To remain always updated, visit the Nudge webpage on ACN website, visit the NUDGE project official website, follow the project on Twitter, watch the video presentation, and subscribe to its newsletter here.

To know more:
Energy policies: the commitment of Cittadinanzattiva at the national and European level (EN - IT)

Networking News

Active Citizenship Network keeps growing, and not only in Europe. In this newsletter we are going to report a series of agreements formalized in this last period, which testify a growing interest in our work on the one hand, and - on the other hand - our willingness to collaborate in synergy with the many actors of civil society who pursue common purposes.

As a follow up of the EU project NUDGE, aiming at implementing behavioural interventions for long-lasting energy efficiency behaviour changes, Active Citizenship Network is pleased to announce that a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with two sectors of the University of National and World Economy (UNWE) of Sofia, Bulgaria, which have shown great interest and desire to participate to the development of the NUDGE project: on the scholars side, with the Department of Economics of Transport and Energy at the University of National and World Economy in Sofia, Bulgaria, and on the activists side, with the Eco Club UNWE:

Department of Economics of Transport and Energy at the UNWE (Bulgaria)
The key aim of the University of National and World Economy (UNWE) in the field of Research & Innovations is to elaborate new solutions to economic, social, and ecological problems and to promote economic growth and society’s involvement at the local, regional, and European level.
In this regard, Active Citizenship Network and the Department of Economics of Transport and Energy at the UNWE have expressed their commitment to support each other’s initiatives in the field of energy transition, sustainability, and the SDGs. The agreement also aims at the promotion and improvement of citizens’ participation in European policies and energy-related discussions. Read more

Eco club UNWE (Bulgaria)
Active Citizenship Network has signed an agreement also with Eco Club UNWE, established in 2012 by the Student Council at UNWE. The club is a democratic association of students studying or graduating from one of the programs of the University of National and World Economy (UNWE). The main goals of the Club concern environmental protection and sustainable development.
The agreement focuses on the promotion of consumer policies addressing environmental and sustainability issues and on the promotion of citizens’ empowerment of citizens in the field of SDGs. ACN and Eco Club UNWE have also committed to supporting each other on the promotion and development of European policies and of civic participation in the debates and in the consultations carried out by the European institutions. Read more

INDECOSA CGT (France)
Recently, Active Citizenship Network has consolidated its network by signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the French consumer association Indecosa CGT. Indecosa’s mission is to ensure and develop the protection, training, information and defense of consumers and to follow the implementation of consumer actions with social and environmental values.
In line with ACN and Indecosa’s common fields of interests, the two have welcomed the opportunity of collaborating and supporting each other to promote the empowerment of citizens in the field of consumer policies, health, sustainability and SDGs, and to facilitate civic participation in the debates and in the European discourses on consumer-related issues. Read more

EEKE - Union of Working Consumers of Greece
Active Citizenship Network is glad to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Union of Working Consumers of Greece (EEKE), a civil society organization established on November 2009 by the initiative of leading cadres of the Greek General Confederation of Labour (GSEE) which aims to improve the actual standard of living and the quality of life of the consumer.
Cittadinanzattiva and EEKE agreed to work together at the European level and in the framework of the European Consumers Union (ECU) on the protection of consumer’s rights, especially those of the most vulnerable sectors, on the improvement of consumer awareness and on the development of an economically rational consumer behavior. Read more

Talented Borders (Latvia)
Active Citizenship Network has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Talented Borders, a Latvian civic organization aiming at the promotion of civic involvement as a fundamental resource for democracy and the protection of citizens’ rights, especially in the area of sustainability issues.
As consumers’ organizations, Active Citizenship Network and Talented Borders have agreed to cooperate and support each other for the promotion of consumer protection and well-being, a topic emphasized also by their involvement within the European umbrella association European Consumers Union (ECU) and by their support to the "Inter-Institutional Group “SDGs for well-being and consumers’ protection”, launched on February 2021 with the desire to create an informal group representing the desire of the civil society to contribute to the SDGs by raising awareness among consumer associations and MEPs about the activities realized by the group. Read more

Instituti per Zhvillim dhe Inisiativa Qytetare (Albania)
Active Citizenship Network has recently signed a new Memorandum of Understanding with the Instituti per Zhvillim dhe Inisiativa Qytetare. The two have agreed to work together on the promotion and protection of citizens and consumers’ empowerment and rights across the European Union. In particular, for the Director of Active Citizenship Network has been a pleasure to support along last October and November the Association Instituti per Zhvillim dhe Inisiativa Qytetare in the framework of the leading the EU project:  “Toward EU: Strengthening Civic Society Organizations and local government for better consumer protection” , and first of all it was really a pleasure for him to be again in touch and come back to cooperate in Albania where he came years ago as a volunteer in Vlora. Read more


Civic Activism

ENGAGE – A significant acknowledgement of EENA to Cittadinanzattiva
On the occasion of the two-day event of the H2020 EU-funded project ENGAGE-Engage Society for Risk Awareness and Resilience, which took place on 8-9 November 2021 in Rome, EENA (European Emergency Number Association) - partner of the project - has awarded Cittadinanzattiva with EENA’s medal of honor for Distinguished Service during COVID-19. The ASL Roma1, the Red Cross of Trondheim and Ertzaintza of the Basque Government were also awarded, recognizing the effort and sacrifice of all who have faced the pandemic to protect collective health and well-being.
In particular, the President of EENA, Demetrios Pyrros, reiterated the symbolism of handing these distinctions. “Medals of honour are usually the government’s highest and most prestigious decoration. That’s what you mean to us, and that’s why we want to honour you because you are our modern-day heroes — the embodiment of courage, resilience and selflessness”.

To know more:

- The official website of the ENGAGE project (ENIT) and watch the video presentation (EN)

- Follow the ENGAGE project on social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter.

- The engagement of Cittadinanzattiva in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic


Rome, 8 November 2021. The receivers of the EENA medals of honor: Cittadinanzattiva, ASLRoma 1, the Red Cross of Trondheim and Ertzaintza.

Started the new EU project NIGHTINGALE: let’s manage better emergencies!
Cittadinanzattiva is proud to be part of a new large European partnership to give life to the project NIGHTINGALE Novel InteGrated toolkit for enhanced pre-Hospital life support and Triage In ChallenGing And Large Emergencies, funded by H2020 HorizonEU Research & Innovation Programme.
NIGHTINGALE will develop and validate an innovative set of integrated tools for the response to large Medical Emergencies: a multi-technological toolkit that networks the different actors involved in the emergency management, and that serves emergency physicians and non-medical civil protection agencies (firefighters, police, but also volunteers and citizens). The goal is to ensure a substantial improvement to pre-hospital life support and triage. The tools developed will allow a shared response between emergency medical services, non-medical civil protection personnel, volunteers and citizens by increasing their "field of vision", information sharing and communication between teams and with victims.
Cittadinanzattiva, in particular with Active Citizenship Network, will be an active part of the project bringing a civic perspective, ensuring that the solutions developed meet the needs of citizens and enhance their skills. We will participate in the dissemination and communication of the project results thanks to the wide network of "civic" (but not only) contacts in Italy and Europe. If you or your organization are interested in the field, join us with your civic experience and knowledge! Write ASAP to Daniela Quaggia d.quaggia@activecitizenship.net. To know more (ENIT).

To know more:

- Follow the NIGHTINGALE project on Twitter

MY EUROPE OF TOMORROW”: Call for proposals for university students on the future of the European Union
In order to contribute to the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE), the Interdepartmental University Centre for Research on European Affairs (CREAF), in collaboration with Agenda Geopolitica of the Ducci Foundation and Movimento Europeo in Italy, has announced a competition addressed to all university students of Italian universities. The aim is to stimulate proposals, ideas and contents to be submitted to the Conference and to the transnational panels of citizens, both through the multilingual digital platform futureu.europa.eu and in the framework of initiatives on the national territory.
The objective of the competition is to stimulate in the new generations a greater awareness of the common destiny that binds us as European citizens, including through a process of development of a new model of the Union, to be shaped through a more active participation of its citizens, capable of addressing the inequalities within it through fair, sustainable, innovative and competitive policies, based on the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality.
Participation in the competition is free of charge and is reserved for students who, at the date of submission of the application, are citizens of one of the member states and are enrolled at a university located in the territory of the Italian Republic. To participate, an application form must be filled out and sent to the email address segreteria@creaf.eu from November 1, 2021 and no later than December 31, 2021.
To know more, click here (IT language).

Events

29 November 2021: The Future of Immunisation (11am – 12pm CET)
Vaccines Today was launched a decade ago, in the wake of the 2009/2010 flu pandemic. During that global outbreak, there was an absence of positive vaccine advocacy on websites and social media. Ten years later, Vaccines Today’ project has grown and the need for high-quality information about vaccines is greater than ever. For these reasons, Active Citizenship Network is happy to celebrate its anniversary and so it has well accepted the invitation to join the panel discussion of the above-mentioned EU webinar, that is part of the 10-year anniversary campaign of Vaccines Today, a strong media partner of Active Citizenship Network at the EU level. Click here to join the event.

30 November 2021: DRIVE Annual Forum 2021 (3-5 pm CET)
Active Citizenship Network has been invited to attend the 2021 DRIVE Forum, that will take place in the format of a single webinar. This year's DRIVE Annual Forum will revolve around the different initiatives and platforms that are being developed in Europe and beyond to manage the monitoring of influenza and COVID-19 vaccines, a crucial topic for the long-term sustainability of the DRIVE project (Development of Robust and Innovative Vaccine Effectiveness). In order to participate in the webinar, please click here.

30 November / 01 December 2021: Imagining a citizen-centric health data ecosystem
Europe is focused on the digital decade. In health and care, the spotlight is on the use of the digital and the use of data. Movement is taking place from discussions about the patients’ own access to their health and care data and the new orientation is towards citizen’s control of much wider forms of data. As a result, many questions are pending about citizens’ capacity to share this data and what to get in return. The challenge is how to govern and regulate these world-changing developments, from a European angle. EHTEL’s 2021 Symposium will help you understand and potentially navigate the future of European data governance and the Union’s “Artificial Intelligence Act”.  Read more.

2-3 December 2021: 6th LifeCourse Immunisation Summit & Working Groups
Active Citizenship Network has been invited by its partner The Excellence in Pediatrics Institute (EIPI) to join the above-mentioned annual Summit.
In particular, Active Citizenship Network will be one of the panelists of the sessions “Life Course Vaccination” and “Influenza vaccinations” both planned during the first day, that will be dedicated to examining the current situation, discussing the work that has been done by each Working Group, and agreeing on priorities and actions for the next year. Read more.

8-9 December 2021: Citizen's Energy Forum
In line with its long-standing commitment at the national and European level on energy issues, for the fifth year in a row Cittadinanzattiva has been formally invited by the European Commission to the annual edition of the Citizen's Energy Forum.
The European Commission is organizing - with the support of the Irish Commission for Regulation of Utilities - the 2021 edition of the Citizen’s Energy Forum as a “hybrid” event, on 08-09 of December 2021 at the NHow Brussels Bloom hotel in Brussels.
The Forum was launched in 2008 as a dedicated platform to implement and enforce consumer rights in the energy market across the European Union. This year’s Forum will take place in the context of the Fit-For-55 Package, the upcoming Gas Decarbonisation Package, and recent price hikes. It will look at immediate and structural measures to protect vulnerable customers against price hikes, as well as consumer trends in an increasingly decarbonised, digitalised and integrated energy system. Key consumer issues including building consumer trust, engagement of energy poor and vulnerable households, protection of decarbonised heat and gas consumers, as well as digitalization will be at the heart of the discussions. Read more.

20-21 April 2022: XVI Edition of the European Patients’ Rights Day
On April 20th and 21st 2022 (tbc) Active Citizenship Network (ACN) will organize the European celebration of the XVI European Patients’ Rights Day (EPRD) with its traditional format of a big multi-stakeholder conference focused on the role played by key actors in the decision-making process on health priorities.
In particular, just before the end of the Conference on the future of Europe (22-24 April 2022 tbc), the expectations and requests of citizens and Patients Advocacy Groups (PAGs) addressed to the institutions will be analysed. What has been discussed? Why did only a small percentage of the initiatives promoted within the CoFoE concern health issues? How to ensure that the priorities defined in the context of CoFoE will be incorporated in the implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRPs)? What is the level of involvement of citizens and patients’ associations in defining the implementation process of the priorities that have been identified in the health sector?
The 2022 conference will have a twofold structure: a first day, dedicated to the presentation to the EU Institutions of the outputs of the themes that emerged from health-related initiatives organized in the framework of the Conference on the Future of Europe – as the cycle of initiatives organized by ACN during the second half of 2021 (in JuneJuly and September 2021), with the direct involvement of MEPs, high level experts, healthcare providers, private sector, leaders of civic organizations, PAGs and citizens aimed to contribute to providing a multi-stakeholder vision for a Healthier European Union - ; and a second day, focused on analysing the actual level of citizen involvement by the Member States close to the approval by the European Commission of most of the NRRPs and their implementation at the national level.
Given the current situation of uncertainty, the XVI European Patients' Rights Day (EPRD) will be organized in a digital format, with the hope that it can be transformed into a hybrid format event, with onsite & online attendance.

Additional information:

- To know more about the XVI European Patients’ Rights Day, please click here.

- To know more about the European Patients’ Rights Day over the years, please click here and here.

 


Director and Editor in chief: Mariano Votta
Editors: Daniela Quaggia, Bianca Ferraiolo, Manuela Amadori, Maira Cardillo, Ana Aviles, Anastasiia Savchuk
Coordination and Production: Giacomo D'Orazio 

To contribute, plase write to: mail@activecitizenship.net
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