For World Diabetes Day .org:
Follow the campaign minute by minute
As the countdown accelerates, we are receiving a constant flow of lighting confirmations and updates about planned events. There are just too many to list here. At the time of writing this message, we have 576 lightings confirmed and over 320 events listed.
For all the latest information, please keep an eye on the campaign website (http://www.worlddiabetesday.org) and twitter account (http://www.twitter.com/WDD). We’ll provide you with the updates as they come in.
Your ideas help inspire action. Please register your event
Every year, people around the world come up with many different ways to involve the local community, engage the local media, and raise awareness of key diabetes issues among decision makers and the general public.
The majority include some common elements as part of their celebrations:
- Promotion of the blue circle as the global symbol for diabetes
- Use of the colour blue (pantone colour 279 or as near as possible)
- An element of fun
Your ideas help inspire action. Register your event now on the World Diabetes Day website.
India puts diabetes in the media spotlight
In the days counting down to World Diabetes Day, India’s leading news channel CNN-IBN is planning to broadcast a week-long series of programmes that put the spotlight on the diabetes epidemic, including a half-hour special on 14 November.
CNN-IBN presenters will support our call to ‘Wear and Share’ the diabetes circle by wearing the blue circle pin on World Diabetes Day.
One episode in the series will feature IDF President Jean Claude Mbanya explaining the challenges faced by developing countries like India and China as the diabetes epidemic continues to explode across Asia.
The channel’s previous reports on the IDF Diabetes Atlas and the IDF World Diabetes Congress in Montreal can be viewed at this link: http://tinyurl.com/ibndiabetes.
India has the highest number of people with diabetes, with 50.8 million people in the country now living with the disease.
JDRF helps drive World Diabetes Day activities
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the world’s largest charitable funder and advocate of type 1 diabetes research, is encouraging the public to learn about type 1 diabetes and its complications by observing World Diabetes Day.
JDRF lightings in US to include Empire State Building
In the US, JDRF will mark World Diabetes Day with numerous events, including media outreach, essay contests on “What Does a Cure Mean to Me?”, and local fundraising activities. JDRF is helping “Bring Diabetes to Light” by asking its members to light blue candles. The organization is also behind the lighting of many landmarks and monuments throughout the United States, including the Empire State Building in New York, Hotel Le Cirque in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Sun Trust Financial Center in Tampa, Florida.
JDRF to help social networkers go blue
In the UK, JDRF is giving Facebook and Myspace users worldwide the opportunity to show their support by turning their avatar blue for World Diabetes Day. Visit http://www.jdrfaware.com/goBlue.aspx to find out how.
Austin turns airwaves blue for World Diabetes Day
As part of their media outreach for World Diabetes Day, the dynamic team behind the activities and lightings in Austin, Texas, have partnered with local radio station 103.5 BOB FM to run advertising spots throughout the week leading up to November 14.
Not satisfied with leaving it at that, the people at BOB FM wanted to do more and came up with a novel way of joining the global campaign to bring diabetes to light. Every hour on November 14, BOB FM will play a song that has blue in the title and raise considerable awareness among listeners by explaining why. So on 14 November, from the Blue Moon of Kentucky to Blue Bayou, from Blue Suede shoes to Blue Velvet, and from Blue Monday to Blue Ronda à la Turk, Radio BOB will be supporting diabetes and airing material to suit all tastes.
IDF video channel sees launch of awareness short
We’ve just launched a one-minute film setting the stage for World Diabetes Day on 14 November. Entitled “Understand Diabetes, Get Involved”, the clip can be viewed on the WDD YouTube channel.
Watch the short and leave us your comments. Please feel free to post it on your website, blog, discussion forum and social networking pages. Help spread the diabetes awareness message as widely as possible