Day of Immunology 2008
Immunology is a topic of general concern worldwide. No human being can survive without a functioning immune system, with its sophisticated system for protection and defense.
The challenges that an immune system faces in different parts of the world are unique according to prevailing conditions. Therefore, the better we understand how the immune system works the better we can help all people stay healthy and protect themselves against epidemics such as HIV or avian flu, to name just two. Our goal, therefore, is to strengthen public awareness of immunology by combining our activities globally on the Day of Immunology (DOI) 2008.
The DOI 2008 is an effort of global concern.
Accordingly, we invite all national societies to create a national website, which can be linked to the DOI 2008 webpage. Please send us a link to your website so that we can assemble all information on the DOI 2008 website.
We hope to create a global forum of information exchange announcing ideas and activities and bringing immunology and health to all people.
Day of Immunology 2008
Great events are often foreshadowed. We will celebrate the fourth Day of Immunology (DoI) this year (29 April). This exceptional event caught the attention of thousands of people during the last three years and was matched by an equivalent increase in public awareness of the importance of immunology.
We have witnessed spectacular performances in places all over the world with more activity in Europe due to its European foundation in 2005. Last year, the first international DoI was held. As scientists, we want to share our findings with the public. Therefore, both EFIS and IUIS hope that you are as creative as DoI participants of the past three years. We are eager to learn about your projects and ideas for this year’s DoI and would be delighted to answer questions and supply resource material (please contact Ahmed Sheriff at the EFIS office sheriff@mpiib-berlin.mpg.de). EFIS also offers a DoI homepage (http://www.efis.org) where we hope to post links to your projects.
During previous DoIs, spectacular performances have been organized, such as the T-B cell games in historic Freiburg, Germany as well as the cooperation of the German Self-help Association Hereditary Immunodeficiencies (DSAI) with the Immunology Department at the Medical University in Hannover (MHH). Many interesting seminars were held in schools around the world, all of which received highly positive responses from pupils and their teachers.
Since 2001, Reinhard Nestelbacher in Salzburg, Austria has been introducing cutting-edge immunological education for schools with the “Immunological Classroom”, the “Flying Lab”, and “Children and Allergy Research”. Nestelbacher and partners (Fatima Ferreira and Konrad Steiner) provide a superb website (http://www.ursprung.at/ursprung/projekte_extern/allergie_end/default.htm and http:// www.allergietage.at), which include documentation of the courses. Their efforts have attracted tens of thousands of people and won our DoI prize in 2006.
Let us follow in their footsteps.
