February 9, 2016

Under The Umbrella for Brain Disorders

UTU-Logo-withEFNA-LARGE1 in 3 Europeans fit under the umbrella – do you?
‘Together Under the Umbrella’ is an innovative campaign which will launch during Brain Awareness Week, March 2016.

A year-long initiative of the European Federation of Neurological Associations [EFNA], the campaign will be supported by Dystonia Europe and we encourage you to get involved too!

How do I get involved?
Following the launch on March 15, INDIVIDUALS should take a picture of themselves under an umbrella and post to social media using the hashtag #UnderTheUmbrella, along with a link to the campaign’s online hub: www.undertheumbrella.eu

You could try tweeting, for example: I’m #UnderTheUmbrella with @MyFriendsName – raising awareness of brain disorders #dystonia

Why not also get involved with the campaign on Facebook?

ORGANISATIONS should visit the website to sign up as a supporting organisation. Here you can also download resources such as the campaign toolkit, promotional materials, etc. and pick up ideas/inspiration for how to get involved!


How are we getting involved?
Dystonia Europe will help to promote the campaign among our members. Special umbrellas are being produced for the D-DAYs 2016 in Oslo and we hope to have some fun and creative photos taken together with dystonia patients, the medical profession, friends and family.


Tell me more about the campaign’s background…

Together Under the Umbrella came about in response to demands by EFNA members to ‘brand the brain’ by grouping brain disorders under a common symbol.

The campaign aims to raise societal awareness of this wide range of disorders, their impact and prevalence. This should lead to an increase in public, political and scientific support for all brain and brain-related disorders – and, ultimately, reduced stigma.

The campaign is linked to EBC’s Call for Action which asks:

  • The European Commission to come forward with a European strategy to tackle brain disorders in a collaborative, integrated and comprehensive manner, as well as to further support European Union Member States and associated countries in their efforts to combat the impact of brain disorders.
  • European Union member states and associated countries to implement public health programmes addressing brain health in a systematic way, making the best possible use of available resources in order to stimulate more and better co-ordinated brain research, and to foster strategies for prevention, early detection, diagnosis and adequate treatment.