An Engaging and Lively Evening with the French-Speaking HD Community
– Written by the Moving Forward team on 20th November 2024
On November 18, the Moving Forward team, together with the Association Huntington France and the Ligue Huntington Francophone Belge, organized a webinar for the French-speaking HD community to share feedback from the EHDN/Enroll-HD 2024 conference and provide updates in lay language about what’s happening in HD research.
96 people from several countries attended the webinar, a number that highlights the community’s strong interest in these topics.
Albert Counet, President of the Ligue Huntington Francophone Belge, and Marc Issandou, President of the Association Huntington France welcomed the participants, introduced the speakers, moderated the webinar and closed the session.
Hubert Aviolat, a family member, researcher and member of the Board of the Association Huntington France, presented in a family-friendly language the basic mechanisms of HD and the latest scientific advances discussed at the conference. Hubert’s presentation raised a lot of interest and prompted numerous questions from the families attending the webinar, who clearly valued having the disease basics, as well as ongoing studies and trials, explained in simple, accessible terms.
Next, Olivier Graf, head of communication and projects at the Ligue Huntington Francophone Belge, shared his experience attending a major international HD conference as a representative of a patient association. He highlighted several projects and collaborations that were established and strengthened during such events.
Finally, Inès Zerzeri, a family member and member of the Board of the Association Huntington France, shared her impressions following her first participation in an international HD conference. Inès emphasized the hope and energy that large events like this can bring to family members, even though some presentations can be challenging to follow due to their scientific nature.
It was an evening filled with meaningful exchanges and hope for the future, and we’d like to thank everyone who took part in this webinar!
The Moving Forward team believes these initiatives are an excellent way of bringing the HD community closer to research, overcoming language and geographical barriers and increasing the knowledge of families affected by HD.
For those who were unable to attend the webinar, you can watch the recording here: