From 12 to 15 September 2024, parent and patient representatives from 18 countries across 2 continents came together to exchange knowledge and learn about effective policy and advocacy activities, using RSV in young children as a case study.

It was a pleasure for EFCNI to host this workshop on RSV policy and advocacy in Munich. The four days were packed with practical exercises, engaging group discussions, and workshops aimed at helping participants develop new or enhance existing tools and skills in the field of policy and advocacy.

On the first day, the workshop kicked off with a smaller group session providing an overview of the epidemiology, transmission, pathogenesis, symptoms, diagnosis, management, and preventive measures of RSV, as well as its impact on global health. This was followed by a hands-on workshop, “Searching and working with evidence on RSV,” where participants learned how to access reliable information and perform research on the PubMed platform, using RSV-related topics as an example. Next came an interactive session on “Mapping and understanding your stakeholders,” which detailed the stakeholder analysis process.

The day concluded with an introduction to and discussion of a policy & advocacy toolkit developed by last year’s participants.

On the second day, the group was joined by last year’s participants to explore the intricacies of maternal vaccination in a scientific session titled “Maternal vaccination – How does it work?” This was followed by an open discussion on advocacy experiences in different regions. In the afternoon, participants delved into social media strategies during the session, “Pitfalls and experiences when discussing maternal vaccination on social media,” which sparked lively discussions among the attendees.

Day three focused on practicing pitching skills in various scenarios, as well as an insightful session on the differences and similarities in policy and advocacy efforts across countries. The session, titled “How to build your political network and place your topic with impact,” was followed by an in-depth look at EFCNI’s campaign work. The day concluded with participants working on their local and national implementation strategies.

On the final day, participants unleashed their creativity during group work sessions, developing digital campaigns, and reflecting on their key takeaways from the workshop.

In summary, over these four days, participants had the opportunity to share their experiences in RSV policy and advocacy from their respective countries, gain new skills and tools, and build on each other’s knowledge.

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our speakers: Dr. Eleni Vavouraki from Iltominon in Greece, Fabiana Bacchini from the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation, Asta Radzevičienė from Neišnešiotukas, Denise Suguitani from Prematuridade, and Dr. Sylvia Obermann from Care4Neo, for their excellent contributions to the workshop!

The 2024 policy and advocacy training workshop for patient and family representatives is supported by a restricted grant from Pfizer.