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Men's health partner

During the month of November each year, Movember asks men across the world to grow a moustache with the aim of raising vital funds and awareness for men’s health issues, specifically prostate cancer.

Guys taking part (Mo Bros) are helping to change the face of men’s health by effectively becoming walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November and through their actions and words raise awareness by promoting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health. Raising awareness and funds is vital because of the facts about prostate cancer in Belgium:

• One man dies every 6 hours of prostate cancer in Belgium
• Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men in Belgium
• In Belgium 8810 men are diagnosed every year, this is the equivalent of 24 per day
• 1410 men die every year from prostate cancer in Belgium

Global Action Plan
Movember’s vision is to have an everlasting impact on the state of men’s health. To this end Movember has established the Movember Global Action Plan, which aims to accelerate prostate cancer outcomes through global research collaboration. Funds raised in Belgium will be allocated to research conducted in Europe that supports the Global Action Plan.

Movember’s GAP program currently has two elements:

1. Annual global collaborative research project
The overall goal of the global collaborative research project is to accelerate research outcomes through collaboration on annually identified priority scientific questions. We believe that getting the best researchers from around the world to work together on key challenges will accelerate breakthroughs that will ultimately benefit men with prostate cancer. Further, we believe that team-based research, performed across borders with a strong collaborative mindset, can deliver innovation and knowledge sharing faster than research conducted primarily at a national level.

Each year Movember’s Global Scientific Committee convenes a meeting to determine the number one research area that could benefit most from global collaboration. Once the priority area is endorsed by Movember’s Board then the best prostate cancer researchers in the world are brought together and funded to collaborate and answer that question.

2. Promoveo - a prostate cancer knowledge exchange platform
Movember is creating a global, online community for prostate cancer researchers, clinicians and organizations called Promoveo. Similar to LinkedIn, but tailored specifically for the prostate cancer research community, Promoveo members can share ideas, find out what key research resources are available in other countries, post information to foster discussion, and connect with other researchers from across the globe to drive outcomes.

Stemming from Latin, Promoveo means to move forward, accomplish, advance, bring to light. Our aim is to create a forum for free information exchange about prostate cancer research that will accelerate outcomes. Imagine what possible opportunities may arise when a prostate cancer researcher in the Netherlands, for example, is able to connect with other researchers involved in the same field in Belgium, Canada, the UK, US, and Brazil to share knowledge and resources.