On the 29th of February 2024 we celebrate the 17th Rare Disease Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness about rare diseases and their impact on the lives of those affected, including approximately 30,000 people in Luxembourg. Lead by EURORDIS, the international alliance of over 1000 associations for patients with a rare disease, thousands of people unite each year on the last day of February to organise campaigns and events to raise awareness in more than 100 different countries.
In Luxembourg, the awareness campaign is led by the non-profit organisation and national alliance representing people affected by a rare disease in Luxembourg, ALAN – Maladies Rares Luxembourg in collaboration with its public and private partners.
The Global Chain of Lights
As in previous years, a highlight of Rare Disease Day is the “Global Chain of Lights” – the illumination of public, or iconic buildings and monuments around the world in the Rare Disease Day colours. The purpose of this illumination is to break the isolation of people affected by a rare disease, to express our solidarity and to raise awareness.
For the “Global Chain of Lights” in Luxembourg, many prestigious buildings are illuminated in blue, pink, green and purple throughout the last week of February 2024, including:
- The Philharmonie
- The Spuerkeess headquarters
- The Belval blast furnaces
- The Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg
- The Centre Hospitalier Emile Mayrisch
- The Centre Hospitalier du Nord
- The Rehazenter
- Luxembourg-city: the water tower at the ban de Gasperich
- Contern: the town hall
- Flaxweiler: the town hall
- Grevenmacher: the town hall
- Helperknapp: the town hall
- Hesperange: the centre multifonctionnel CELO
- Larochette: the church
- Mamer: the Mamer Schlass and the Maison Citoyenne
- Mersch: the dragon & castle wall
- Nommern: the town hall
- Kehlen: the town hall
- Redange: the church
- Remich: the town hall
The events
The illumination of the buildings is accompanied by awareness events and a social media campaign, led by ALAN and its partners throughout the month of February:
In collaboration with the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) ALAN is organizing a general public conference on the diagnosis of rare diseases on the 26th of February 2024. For more information, click here
With its partners from the Center Hospitalier du Nord (CHdN), the Center Hospitalier Emile Mayrisch (CHEM) and the Center Hospitalier de Luxembourg (CHL) ALAN is organizing an awareness day in these hospitals on the 29th of February 2024.
ALAN organizes readings of the children’s book “Toni Konfettoni” in schools, maison relais and public libraries, such as at the Cercle Cité on the 16th of March 2024 at 10:30 a.m. Published by Éditions Guy Binsfeld, in collaboration with ALAN, the book aims to raise children’s awareness for rare or chronic diseases, and, more generally, addresses subjects such as empathy, acceptance and inclusion.
