2023-10-05 17:13:26
The WHO estimates 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. A chronic condition that is widespread and yet still neglected, so much so that it is “invisible” to the eyes of those who are not affected by it. With the aim of making the invisible visible, the #BlueBalloonChallenge returns, Medtronic’s international campaign to promote a better understanding of what it means to live with diabetes today and to support, through a donation to the non-profit organization Life for a Child, children and young people with diabetes in developing countries who otherwise have limited access.
Through the metaphor of a blue balloon kept in balance during daily activities – we read in a note – the Blue Balloon campaign represents the daily condition of those who live with diabetes and try to lead a normal life while always keeping in mind the management of their own condition. It is a constant balancing act for those affected and those around them, but its real impact is often not perceived from the outside: the #BlueBalloonChallenge highlights precisely this aspect with the blue balloon which becomes its symbol.
“Although we often talk about diabetes, this condition remains generally little understood – declares Luigi Morgese, Sr. Business Director of Medtronic Diabete Italia – above all there is no awareness of the fact that a patient with diabetes has an infinite list of rules to follow, precautions to take into consideration and many decisions to make in his daily life. For this reason, Medtronic continues its commitment, developing cutting-edge technologies that can help and improve 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.”
Together to make the invisible visible is also the title of the video hero, protagonist of the third edition of the #BlueBalloonChallenge, which collects the experience of four teenagers with diabetes who talk about their daily lives, underlining what it means to learn to manage and live with their own diabetes at a crucial time in your life. This year’s video (available on the Medtronic Facebook page) aims to make “visible” to everyone’s eyes what it means to have diabetes, involving an increasingly wider audience and going beyond the diabetic community, and renewing the invitation to participate to the challenge by sharing content with the hashtag #BlueBalloonChallenge on social media while carrying out a common activity by holding a balloon suspended in the air or using the Instagram filter dedicated to the initiative. The invitation to participate in the challenge will be supported by a tour that will visit the cities of Milan, Florence and Naples where, in addition to inviting people to participate in the challenge on social media, activities and entertainment will be planned aimed at involving passers-by.
Content published with the reference #BlueBalloonChallenge and with the tag @medtronicita on Instagram, @MedtronicDiabetes on LinkedIn or @Medtronicdiabete on Facebook – details the note – will allow Medtronic to make a donation of 5 euros for each piece of content to Life for a Child, a non-profit organization that provides insulin and blood sugar monitoring devices to children with diabetes in developing countries. In 2022, thanks to the 100,000 euros raised and donated by Medtronic, Life for a Child managed to provide insulin and basic medical devices to 2000 children in Syria and over 200 in Kenya.
“The children and young people in our clinics in Kenya and Syria are concrete testimony of what it means to take part in the Blue Balloon Challenge – declares Graham Ogle, General Manager of Life for a Child – Everyone’s contribution can make a difference and support of Medtronic to our organization is a precious help for those in poorer countries who have to add to the difficulty of managing a chronic pathology on a daily basis also the lack of access to the resources necessary for therapy”.
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