WECAN Academy – Frankfurt 2019

July 2019

The WECAN Academy training took place from 6 to 8 July 2019 in Frankfurt (Germany). The training was organised by WECAN, an informal network of leaders from cancer patient umbrella organisations, including INCA. The content and structure of the WECAN Academy builds on the work carried out by many patient advocate groups in previous years.

This training was intended for all cancer patient  advocates and around 26 European nationalities were represented.

The sessions focused on essential practical skills: how to create, lead, finance and manage a non-profit organisation, how to collect patient-generated evidence and how to make patients’ voices heard. An introduction to health systems, policies and access to new treatments in Europe was also offered. Advocates were introduced to the world of medical research, drug development, clinical trials, data assessment and patient participation in research.

The course brought together people with varying backgrounds and needs, including: leaders of national and/or umbrella organisations seeking to train their teams as well as patients seeking to start their own organisations.

Five participants represented INCA during this educational initiative: Mette Jackson (Norway), Mark McDonnell (NET Patient Network Ireland), Fabienne Pfyffer and James Nagelmackers (Victory NET, Switzerland) and Teodora Kolarova (Executive Director of INCA).