Regional engagement

No two regions are the same, and understanding how to best support members and address their specific challenges is critical to UICC’s mission. Throughout the year, UICC’s efforts fostered stronger regional engagement around the world, whether it was cancer societies from the European region coming together for the virtual CEO Programme roundtable series or through the launch of the first Regional Series of six Virtual Dialogues, which brought together regional communities and supported the sharing of experiences on priority themes for each region. These dialogues supported the engagement of more than 300 participants, with 149 UICC member organisations represented. In addition, at the World Cancer Leaders’ Summit, UICC organised two dedicated sessions with UICC members to highlight regional perspectives on innovation and equity with an audience of global leaders.

Other regional activities during the year included participation in the China Conference on Oncology, The Economist’s World Cancer Series, the SouthEast Asia Breast Cancer Symposium and the Kenya Society of Haematology and Oncology regional workshop.

UICC members worldwide embraced World Cancer Day as a chance to raise awareness and inspire action, and UICC also developed practical support and learning opportunities, allowing members to benefit from access to UICC’s extensive capacity building offer. This included for example a three-month online Master course called ‘Managing sustainable and effective cancer civil society organisations’ and an exclusive short course on ‘Fundraising strategies in challenging times’ for a selected group of organisations as part of UICC’s CEO Programme. In addition, UICC expanded the Patient Group Mentoring Programme to include organisations from the Eastern Mediterranean region as well as the Asia Pacific region. Learn more about Capacity Building at UICC on page 21. “As a UICC member during a difficult year for our patient support activities, I found it helpful to be part of a community where everyone supports each other. Furthermore, having had the opportunity to participate in UICC’s Patient Group Mentoring Programme has allowed me to share experiences with peers from other countries.”

Sharifah Saffinas Syed Soffian, Cancer Survivor Malaysia

"With all the socioeconomic and political challenges in the region and the fast spread of the pandemic worldwide, I thank every one of you for managing to share with us all the great ideas and work you are doing in your countries. (...) On behalf of all the [civil society organisations] of this region, I thank the UICC board, staff, and management for always initiating those meetings and for the ongoing future activities and plans for the members."

Hana Chaar Choueib, General Manager, Children’s Cancer Centre of Lebanon (CCCL) UICC Board Member

FUCAM, Mexico