The first WECAN Academy organised by the Workgroup of European Cancer Patient Advocacy Networks (WECAN) will take place 6-9 July 2019 in Frankfurt, Germany. This training programme is aimed at growing the knowledge and skills of more than 100 European leading patient advocates, and those who joined the community more recently, in the areas of:

• Advocacy Tools & Skills
• Healthcare Systems, Policy & Access
• Research and Data

The WECAN Academy 2019 provides a systematic approach to educating the cancer patient community on cross-disease topics, by combining two key capacity building programmes for patient advocates:

• WECAN Smart Start: Starting and Building a National Non-Profit Patient Group focuses on “beginners” in patient advocacy
• WECAN Masterclass on Patient Advocacy will focus on experienced patient advocacy leaders.

“Increasing collaboration, alignment and mutual support between pan-European cancer patient umbrella organisations is the main aim of WECAN. One of the key areas where we aim at joining forces is in the systematic and continued education of our patient advocates, to ensure they are fully equipped to lead in evidence-based advocacy”, explains Ananda Plate, chair of WECAN and CEO of Myeloma Patients Europe (MPE).

Find the complete programme of the WECAN Academy 2019 here. If you would like to learn more about this initiative, click here.