COVID-19 protocols have changed much in our world, most of it not for the better. Sure, there’s a little bit more banana bread in the freezer, there’s a bit more work-from-home, which is handy for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and, perhaps, we have taken account of what is truly important in these mad times.
For the most part, however, particularly for people living with disabilities, the restrictive protocols have been an added layer of difficulty.
Learn, Participate, and Advocate for MS
Like many roadblocks in our continuing life with MS, we just seem to find our way over, under, around, or through these obstacles.
This year, the European Multiple Sclerosis Platform (EMSP) is both adhering to local and international COVID-19 restrictions and helping people with MS to live their best lives with the disease.
This year’s EMSP annual conference — to be held on November 19 and 20 — is to be a completely online affair, and open to the international MS community to participate free of charge.
For those who don’t know the EMSP, their website lists them as “firmly committed to an ultimate vision of a world without multiple sclerosis (MS).” They work on a three-pillar approach to ensure that people with MS have a real voice in determining their own objectives and priorities:
- Campaigning through advocacy and awareness-raising
- Collecting and sharing knowledge and expertise
- Encouraging research and data collection
They rely on a growing network of 41 member societies in 36 European countries.
I have been associated with ESMP for a number of years and was compere for last year’s conference held in Vilnius, Lithuania.
‘Understanding Progressive Multiple Sclerosis’
The theme of this year’s conference is “Understanding Progressive Multiple Sclerosis” and will include a broad and impressive panel of speakers from around the world. Experts from Greece, Belgium, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States will cover a range of topics about living with progressive forms of MS.
For years, people living with the progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (primary-progressive MS and secondary-progressive MS) have felt themselves underserved by the medical establishment and many patient organizations. This is primarily because the first several waves of MS disease modifying drugs were targeted only at relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis.
This concern brought about the creation of the International Progressive MS Alliance in 2012 when MS Societies from Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States heard our voices. There are now 18 national MS organizations (two from France) and the MS International Federation listed as members of the Alliance.
Registering for the Conference Is Easy
Living with, treating, and research into progressive forms of MS is important to all of us in the MS community, and I am pleased to see EMSP is taking on the subject in a two-day event.
Registration for the conference is free and easy. Simply go to the EMSP registration page, pick the sessions you would like to watch live, and set yourself up with handy reminders if you like, as well.
Hundreds from around the world have already registered. We hope to “see” you there.
Wishing you and your family the best of health.
Cheers,
Trevis
