First Moving Forward National Meeting in Spain:
“The Uncertainty Of Waiting”, May 7th 2022
– Written by the Moving Forward Team on May 24th 2022
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On May 7th, the Moving Forward team has promoted for the first time in Spain a national meeting specifically directed to possible HD carriers and people with premanifest HD. For most participants, it was the first time ever attending an HD- related meeting.
The meeting happened in IMAGURU, an informal and cozy space in Madrid, where more than 50 persons from different parts of Spain converged (Islas Baleares y Canarias, Comunidad Valenciana, Santander, Cataluña, Andalucía, Castilla La Mancha, Galicia, Madrid…..) (Photo 1).
It was a meeting with lots of complicity, shared learnings, mutual respect, and diversified opinions, experiences and stories, where we were able to share our personal episodes in an intimate and relaxed atmosphere. Different Spanish HD Associations took part in this special meeting, namely the Asociación Canaria de Huntington, the Asociación Valenciana Enfermedad Huntington, the Associació Catalana de la Malaltia de Huntington, and ACHE (Photo 2).
Ruth Blanco had the chance to present the structure and goals of the Moving Forward Project in Spain, the work developed so far, the next steps and the specific resources available to the Spanish community in Castilian, such as the Forum section of the Moving Forward webpage or the HD TrialFinder site (Photo 3).
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After a moment of group dynamics (Photo 4), during which the participants were able to meet and break the ice, we started an open debate around the topic of genetic testing in HD, moderated by the neuropsychologist and researcher Saúl Martínez Horta (Photo 5).
This open debate was really instructive, interesting and fluid. Thanks to the generosity of the participants who shared their experiences and feelings in a very spontaneous and heartfelt way, we were able to enjoy a truly unique and emotional day. All this accompanied by a delicious catering (Photo 6).
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The meeting was a very original and innovative event, both for the specific groups targeted, as well as for the format and structure chosen, which generated many positive evaluations such as those shared by Saúl Martínez on his Twitter account (Photo 7).
And it has had such a positive impact on all the participants that we are already thinking about the next time we can meet again!
