4 June, 2025
‘Patient experiences matter. Share yours with the world.’
ERS and the European Lung Foundation (ELF) have launched Global Voices, an international campaign to showcase the real experiences of people living with lung conditions and those who support them.
The campaign invites patients or those who support them to share a photo and short quote which highlights their experiences of living with a lung condition.
ERS and ELF also welcome submissions from anyone affected by breathing-related challenges such as air pollution, access to clean air, workplace exposures or healthcare inequalities.
Patients, carers, family members and respiratory professionals are encouraged to participate.
In particular, ERS encourages its community of respiratory professionals to take part where possible – by sharing the campaign with their patients or by sharing a photo or quote themselves which captures the impact of their day-to-day work.
Submissions can be made online. Received photos and quotes will form part of a visual display that humanises lung health at this year’s ERS Congress. It will also highlight the impact respiratory professionals have on patients’ lives each day.
The deadline to submit content to be displayed at the Congress is 1 July; content received after this date but before 1 September will be featured in ongoing advocacy events and activities worldwide.
Prof. Silke Ryan, ERS President, said:
“Each year at the ERS Congress, we are surrounded by the very latest updates in respiratory medicine and science.
“However, at the Congress it is also extremely important to honour the people who give our work purpose. As healthcare professionals, educators and researchers, patients are at the centre of everything we do, and this is a chance to reflect on the real-life impact of our work.
“I therefore call on our network of respiratory professionals to share Global Voices with their patients and to get involved where they can. Let’s create a truly impactful display at this year’s Congress to ensure that patient voices are not just heard but seen and felt by thousands of congress attendees from across the globe.”