Stronger Together: World Sight Day Oct. 13

World Sight Day is an important advocacy and communications event on the eye health calendar. It is a great time to engage with a wider audience – a patient’s family, those who seldom get an eye exam, diabetics – and showcase why eye health needs everybody’s attention.

World Sight Day 2016 will be on 13 October 2016. From the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, this year’s call to action

:

Stronger Together

IAPB urges you to focus on all the stakeholders who are important for successful delivery eye care. Think of all the groups of people who engage with eye care: ophthalmologists, optometrists, ophthalmic nurses, donors, patients, carers, the wider family. Clearly, our successes are made possible by the fact that we work together, and so, what can be a better theme for our continued success? The more groups we bring together–the diabetic community, the irreparably blind, vulnerable groups, including those with other disabilities–the stronger we become.

This World Sight Day, let’s celebrate our partnerships and friendships.

IAPB Photo Competition

We are delighted to announce a new photo competition again. This year too, IAPB encourages amateur and professional photographers around the world to join us in highlighting the impact of eye health in people’s lives, by taking part in an International Photography Competition with theme, ‘Stronger Together’.  Send us your pictures – professional shoots, amateur compositions, instagrams or flickr – with the hashtag, #WSD2016 and #StrongerTogether by 13 October 2016 – World Sight Day

Audiences

Key decision makers, policymakers, government officials, patients, partners/donors and the wider health community (referral networks like diabetes groups, for example) can be invited to participate in our WSD celebrations. Remind them about what they can do to address vision issues in the community, and make them take a public commitment on World Sight Day! Better still, recognise (small or large) acts of support from these stakeholders and celebrate them on World Sight Day.

Areas of Focus

Irrespective of your area of focus this World Sight Day – cataract, glaucoma, diabetes, eye care management – ‘Stronger Together’ works. You can use it to reach out to new groups within your work-area, or to highlight support or funding that has helped you deliver quality eye care services.