World Wide Charter
for Action on Eating Disorders
Charter Launch Campaign Update, August 2008
NEDA’s commitment to promoting the “Worldwide Charter for Action on Eating Disorders” by supporting state launches is underway with the STAR program- States for Treatment Access and Research.
The past two months have involved recruiting volunteers across the country. A volunteer recruitment mailing to NEDA’s Parents, Friends, and Family Network yielded over 100 responses from 31 states, and telephone interviews to hire volunteer state leaders in each state to head up the project have taken place.
As of August 22, 29 states have assigned leaders, with a few more pending interviews. The coming weeks will include attempts to recruit in areas currently lacking leadership.
A training program for state leaders is being devised which will include both a presentation and a manual. The presentation will be given at the NEDA Austin conference September 19 for state leaders who can attend, and at regional trainings later in the fall for those who are unable to make the conference. The manual is essentially a “how to” packet which details in a step-by-step guide how to carry out a successful charter launch.
The plan is to hold charter launches during Eating Disorder Awareness Week, the last week of February 2009 (with exceptions depending upon each state’s legislative calendar). Launches will be short briefings (20 minutes or less) with three to four speakers on a panel, each tailoring their comments to a point on the charter. NEDA hope that one of these speakers will be a professional referred by the AED, the others can be consumers or family members. The briefings should be well-attended by the public, constituents, policy-makers, and the media.
For more details contact Lara Gregorio: lgregorio@nationaleatingdisorders.org
Drawn from the responses of 1,730 people with
or recovered from eating disorders, family members, professionals,
and
other stakeholders from 46 countries to a Web-based survey
developed by the World Summit Task Force, the Charter defines
the rights and expectations that people with eating disorders
and their families can seek from those responsible for
health policies and practices worldwide. The goal is to form
a united
coalition that can persuade policy makers around the globe
to commit to the actions set forth in the Charter.
The Charter
represents the first initiative of the World Summit on Eating
Disorders, an event the AED plans to sponsor
annually at each international conference. The World Summit
Inaugural Session held at this year’s conference was
the first global meeting of professional, patient/carers,
and other stakeholders gathering in a united effort to discuss
common concerns about the current and future status of eating
disorders treatment and services. Delegates from around the
world and conference participants were invited to participate
in this Summit, which featured the signing of the Charter
and a work session focused on ways to enact the standards
set forth in the Charter.
AED members are encouraged to adopt
the Charter in their organizations and in their communities
and to use the Charter
as a vehicle for working with local governments and policy
makers to improve the availability and the quality of eating
disorder treatment and services in their regions.
For further information on hosting a Charter
launch in your region, contact Paulo Machado (pmachado@iep.uminho.pt)
To
join an AED listserv dedicated to Charter implementation
and related activities, contact Laura Collins (laura@eatingwithyouranorexic.com)
A 45 minute video on the U.S. launch of the
Charter in Washington D.C. is available for download. This
video can be 'progressively downloaded' to your computer,
which will allow you to view it while the file is downloading.
Please note that the video is 450 MB, so you should make
certain that you have enough space on your computer's disk
drive BEFORE you attempt to download it. If you are on a
dial-up connection, it is recommended that you NOT try and
download the video, as it may take up to several hours. The
video is in Windows Media Video (.wmv) format, and can be
played
on
Microsoft
Windows Media Player or other media players that are compatible
with the .wmv format. Download
the video here.
Sign on
in Support of the World Wide Charter
Numerous companies
and individuals have signed the Charter. Join them in supporting
this groundbreaking effort. All fields are required for submission.
Charter Questionnaire Now Available Online
The AED World Wide Charter questionnaire links to the Charters' six statements of rights and expectations. Please complete the questionnaire to help us learn more about the quality of eating disorder treatment, research, and prevention in your region of the world. The information we gather from the questionnaire responses can be used to develop initiatives to improve services and research, and to support campaigns which further the Charter's aims.
To complete the questionnaire, click here.
A summary of the responses will be published in the AED Forum, and on our website.
Thank you for your help with this vital initiative!
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