With the aim of meeting people in person and raising awareness of what it means to live with diabetes, the ‘BlueBalloonChallenge’ motorhome arrives in Florence. On 4 and 5 November, in Piazza della Repubblica, blue balloons will be distributed to passers-by to actively involve them in a challenge that is a metaphor for the condition of those living with diabetes and to share it on social media. The initiative, promoted by Medtronic, proposes to keep a blue balloon in balance while carrying out daily activities, to tell what it means to have diabetes and try to lead a normal life, while always keeping in mind the management of one’s condition. Each participation – explains a note – will allow Medtronic to support, with a donation to the non-profit organization Life for a Child, children and young people with diabetes in developing countries who would otherwise have limited access to treatment.
The 2023 international campaign consists of a hero video entitled ‘Together to make the invisible visible’ and a challenge on social media. The hero video, available on the Medtronic Facebook page, collects the experience of 4 diabetic teenagers to underline the commitment to learning to manage this condition at a crucial moment in one’s life, such as adolescence, and involving an increasingly wider audience . In fact, the intent is to go beyond the diabetic community, renewing the invitation to participate in the challenge and share content on social media with the hashtag #BlueBalloonChallenge while carrying out a common activity by holding a balloon suspended in the air or using the Instagram filter dedicated to the initiative. With the social campaign, the company will donate 5 euros for each piece of content shared with the hashtag #BlueBalloonChallenge and the tag on Medtronic social channels in favor of Life for a Child, which provides insulin and blood sugar monitoring devices to thousands of children and young people who, living in developing countries, have difficulty accessing these tools.
Present at the Tuscan stage of the initiative, which has the patronage of the Municipality of Florence, are the councilor for Education and Welfare, Sara Funaro, and representatives of the local healthcare companies. “We at the Municipality of Florence – states Funaro – carry out solid collaborations with local hospitals to make healthcare increasingly accessible and close to people. We work together towards a common goal: the health and well-being of citizens”.
Diabetes – the note recalls – is a very widespread chronic condition, especially in childhood, which however is very often overlooked. There are estimated to be over 530 million cases of diabetes in the world and in Italy more than 3 and a half million, equal to 6% of the population of our country. In particular, in the Tuscany region there are 207 thousand people affected by this condition. The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies diabetes among the global priorities to which national health systems must pay attention and calls for greater commitment to improving knowledge and awareness, to stem the diabetes epidemic in the world.
“A patient with diabetes – underlines Luigi Morgese, Sr. Business Director of Medtronic Diabete Italia – has an endless list of rules to follow, precautions to take into consideration and many decisions to make in his daily life. It is never talked about enough and This condition remains little understood. Medtronic strives every day to develop cutting-edge technologies capable of helping and improving people’s quality of life, but at the same time continues to raise awareness to shine a light on this condition and make it visible to everyone”.
The references for publishing content on social media are: #BlueBalloonChallenge and @medtronicita on Instagram, @MedtronicDiabetes on LinkedIn or @Medtronicdiabete on Facebook. The BlueBalloonChallenge motorhome will be present in Piazza della Repubblica in Florence from 10am to 7.30pm on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th November. After Tuscany, the campaign will continue its tour of the country arriving in Naples (11 and 12 November) and then in Milan (18 and 19 November).
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