#JumpForDystonia2020 Photo Competition Results
Jump for Dystonia 2020 is a relaunch of the successful dystonia awareness campaign that took place in 2015 involving thousands of people worldwide.
Last September, during Dystonia Awareness Month 2020, we asked our followers to take a photo of their special Jump and post on social media.
About 100 photographs were received from all over the world in one month!
There were five prizes for best Jumps. Due to a tie in the scores we have added three runner up winners!
We asked the jury to select the winners. The jury included: one EFNA (The European Federation of Neurological Associations) representative, two dystonia patients, one photographer and one industry representative. Thank you to our judging panel for giving such careful consideration to all entries.
Congratulations to the winners and a big thank you to everyone who took part!
See the winning entries below.
First place
Paulina – Finland
“I am an e-commerce entrepreneur in Southwest Finland. I am also a mother of two really lively child.
I had no knowledge of dystonia before this challenge, which I received from an employee of the Finnish Parkinson’s Association.
I read about the topic and definitely wanted to be involved in sharing information. It is important that more and more people are aware of the things people are struggling with.”
Second place
Paulina – Poland
“My name is Paulina and I was diagnosed with blepharospasm and cervical dystonia six years ago.
My jump for dystonia is all about raising awareness of a rare disorder that I live with. I want to show that it is still possible to live with this disorder remaining positive and active. Chronic diseases bring many limitations and often lead to loss of hope.
I think that a lot depends on ourselves. Let’s try to make people aware of our disease and not hide it from others. It can help us to overcome our fears. It is normal that we experience grief, anger and fear. We should talk to people about our feelings. Also, don’t be shy to ask for help if we need it.
Be active as much as possible, enjoy little things and small successes. Give yourself a little pleasure. Do not give up your plans, even if it requires more time, effort and some “adjustments”. Nobody should give up on their dreams. Even if there are moments when it seems that all the others around are stronger than we are.
I would like to express my gratitude to the Polish Dystonia Association and Dystonia Europe for their care and support for people with dystonia. You are amazing in what you do!”
Third place
Mika – Finland
“My name is Mika Helkala. I am 54 years old and my family are my wife, our 18 years old daughter, one dog, one cat and four horses. We live in the south of Finland, in the city of Kouvola. I was diagnosed with cervical dystonia in February 2020.
Our hobbies are horses and we love to spend time with them. My wife Sanna took the picture with me in our garden when I am jumping on a trampolin. It was my wife’s idea to send this picture to the ”jump for dystonia” competition.”
Fourth place
Simona – Ireland
Simona is 14 year old girl who has been diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder. Mutation of pde10a gene. Next to that she was diagnosed with dystonia and dyskinesia. She is the only child in Ireland diagnosed with Pde10a, the 3rd in Europe and the 9th around the whole world.
She is attending secondary school.
Simona is very brave little woman who never complains.
Fifth place
Marika – Italy
“#jumpfordystonia2020 – a particular “jump” of my little girl, from a mother with idiopathic torsion dystonia and cervical dystonia. The strength of love conquers everything!”
Sixth place
Deborah – France
“My name is Deborah, and I am from France. I have a cervical dystonia, and writer’s cramp.
I chose to jump next to Aladdin’s magic lamp, to make a wish: I wish that one day dystonia could be detected more easily and quickly, and that a suitable cure could finally be found. I’m not sure it will happen soon, but I hope. I am involved on social networks and I will continue to spread the word about dystonia.”
Seventh place
Parkinsonliitto ry – Finland
“We are the Finnish Parkinson Association, an umbrella organisation for different movement disorders, including dystonia, in Finland. The Finnish Dystonia Association is one of our member organisations. In order to show our support to them, we wanted to take a group photo of our staff.
Unfortunately we are only five on the photo, since many of us were working from home due to Covid19 and therefore everybody was not present. However, we had fun jumping and the photo was taken by our Financial Officer Birgit Kaartovuori. On the photo from left: Emmi Nuppula, Päivi Niemi, Miia Kivipuro, Taina Piittisjärvi and Satu Matikainen.”
Eighth place
Dansk Dystoniforening – Denmark
“The picture is taken at our General Assembly 2020, and the participants of the meeting could take part in the Jump activity if the wanted. We were lucky a lot of them did that.
Dansk Dystoniforening has about 700 members from Denmark including The Faroe Islands.”
The #jumpfordystonia2020 campaign was made possible with a grant from European Federation of Neurological Associations as a part of the #brainlifegoals Project Grant.
See all the winners of EFNA’s #brainlifegoals project grants here.
