by Lucinda Blauw

In January and in March two manifesto meetings were planned. The first was only for the steering group. In that meeting we talked about the purpose of the manifesto and what should be in it. By signing the manifesto, all organisations will mean the same when they talk about arthritis or rheumatism. The manifesto can be used for political or social purposes, for example to draw attention to the position of people with arthritis.

National organisations can use the manifesto as a basis to set up projects. We spoke also about the format of the manifesto. It should contain 10 statements which fit on one piece of A4 paper.The statements will be about: capacity and recognition of organisations, education and training, employment, equal opportunities and access, healthcare, health professional awareness, medical research, policy involvement, self management and personal development and social research. In a small book the 10 statements will be explained.

In March the standing committee of EULAR Social Leagues organised a meeting with the steering group. During a very long but successful day we talked about the manifesto. A lot of good remarks came out of it .

Published in Newsletter no. 4, August/September 2000