On April 26, 2021, NCD Alliance Japan and Power to the People with Chronic Conditions(PPeCC), an organization that supports People Living With Non-Communicable Diseases (PLWNCDs), hosted an event called “Introduction to the Our Views, Our Voices Workshop – An Initiative by PLWNCDs, for PLWNCDs.” Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) serves as the secretariat of NCD Alliance Japan.

In recent years, it has become increasingly necessary for PLWNCDs and other healthcare beneficiaries to participate in the healthcare policy creation process. However, their voices are not being properly reflected in policy and PLWNCDs lack opportunities to learn how to make their voices heard.

To help improve this situation, starting in 2019, NCD Alliance Japan and PPeCC have jointly planned and organized a Japanese version of the “Our Views, Our Voices” (OVOV) workshop with the goal of enhancing the advocacy capabilities of PLWNCDs and related parties.

The OVOV workshop was developed to meet global standards and was created using opinions from those with non-communicable diseases (NCDs)1 from around the world. It includes various programs that provide participants with basic knowledge about healthcare and NCDs, that teach effective methods of communicating personal experiences, and that provide strategies for solving issues from the position of a representative of PLWNCDs.

To start the event, Ms. Haruka Ikezaki from PPeCC, which served as facilitator for the Japan Our Views, Our Voices Workshop in 2019, explained the aim of program, gave an overview of the Japan OVOV workshop, and showed photos of past OVOV workshops. Next, to help attendees form a more concrete mental image of the workshop, she demonstrated the Elevator Pitch for Advocacy,2 one of the exercises conducted at the workshop. In the demonstration, Ms. Ikezaki acted as the facilitator and Ms. Mei Wada (Representative, Nimokaka Club) acted as a workshop attendee. Together, they showed an elevator pitch as it might appear when a person living with an NCD or other workshop participant is engaging in advocacy.

Impressions from workshop participants were also shared. Ms. Wada and Ms. Yoshiko Arai (Representative, Nanbyo Café Omusubi) spoke about their reasons for participating in the workshop, the significance of amplifying the voices of PLWNCDs, and the importance of connecting people across different fields of disease.

After the event, a social mixer was held for attendees to ask the workshop participants questions, to express their expectations for the workshop, and to share their opinions.

To view a recording of the event, please visit the link below. Please note that the video is only available in Japanese.

 

■Program:

Explanation of purpose ・introduction

Our Views, Our Voices Workshop Introduction

Mock exercise 　 An elevator pitch

Participant Voices

Facilitator:
Haruka Ikezaki (PPeCC/RDing Fukuoka)

Speakers:
Yoshiko Arai (Nan Café Omusubi)
Mei Wada (Nimokaka Club)

Q&A Session

Social Mixer (Voluntary Participation)

■Organizers:

Organizer: Health and Global Policy Initiative (NCD Alliance Japan Secretariat)
Co-organizer: PPeCC

■ NCD Alliance and NCD Alliance Japan
NCD Alliance was launched in 2009 by four international federations: The International Diabetes Federation, the International Union Against Cancer, the World Heart Foundation, and the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. NCD Alliance is a collaborative platform for the fight against NCDs that currently consists of about 2,000 civil society and academic groups in 170 countries, with a mission to eliminate preventable suffering, disability and death caused by NCDs. Since 2013, NCD Alliance Japan has acted as the Japanese branch of NCD Alliance and has been providing a forum for multi-stakeholder discussions and promoting the importance of civil society’s role in the fight against NCDs.

Our Views, Our Voices (OVOV) Workshop
The Our Views, Our Voices Workshop is a workshop conducted by the NCD Alliance for PLWNCDs to strengthen their advocacy capacity. The workshop is designed to deepen the understanding of the current situation surrounding NCDs, issues and policies related to NCDs from a global perspective, and to learn through group work and practice how to disseminate their experiences, as well as develop strategic methods for more impactful advocacy efforts. In 2018, training workshops were conducted for the representatives of NCD Alliance in each country with the hopes of expanding the program. The event has been held in Japan since 2019 (the 2020 workshop was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

1 NCDs are defined as chronic diseases, including cancers, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), respiratory diseases, and mental health conditions. NCDs have become the leading cause of death worldwide, and also pose a health issue of great urgency in Japan. In addition to collaboration among healthcare institutions and governments, the involvement of people and organizations from various positions such as private companies, research institutes, and civil society will be essential to promote measures for NCDs and to achieve better healthcare policies.

2 An elevator pitch is a short, 30- to 60-second pitch in which someone communicates who they are and what they want in a clear, compelling manner. It was originally conceived as a method of reaching out to an influential person during a random meeting in an elevator. In the Elevator Pitch for Advocacy, people attempt to drive a decision-maker to action by giving a short description of what they want to achieve as well as why and how they want to achieve it.