Annika Nowak, Head of Sector, DG Research & Innovation, European Commission, and Hugo Soares, Coordinator of the ECHoS Project, opened the ECHoS Town Hall Meeting.
Annika Nowak highlighted the importance of visibility and stakeholder engagement for the Mission’s success, emphasising that “I think my role is really to emphasise how important this project is. It is very important for us to make sure the mission is visible; the actions are becoming more visible.” She underlined the crucial role of ECHoS in demonstrating progress, noting that “ECHoS is one crucial part to ensure that the mission can demonstrate the success and the impact it may have.”
In his opening speech, Hugo Soares reminded participants of the power of collaboration, stating, “this is what this kind of events face to face are about… to create this balance between us, because this is the one factor that matters when we talk about multiplication effect.”
He stressed the importance of meaningful implementation at national level:
“we have to do meaningful actions… something that might change the current procedures.”
Hugo further addressed the urgency and human dimension behind the mission, reflecting that “cancer is often referred as the number two cause of death in Europe, sometimes the number one in some Member States. But… cancer is also a major driver of change.”
He shared his vision for stronger collaboration:
“I want to share a dream, because I also have a dream… the dream is where the collaboration and the participation is stronger than personal interests, than organisational interests.”
He connected this mission to fundamental rights, stating, “So today we take one more step in that direction, because we believe cancer care is human care, and I would say that human care is a human right.”
He concluded with a powerful reminder of urgency:
“what we are doing here today, fighting against cancer, is actually fighting for human rights to be more accessible to everyone… because soon we might face one diagnosis like this, and so we need to move, and we need to move fast.”
As the event unfolds, we look forward to dynamic discussions and fresh insights from key stakeholders and national representatives who have successfully established their Cancer Mission Hubs. The Town Hall promises rich knowledge exchange, opportunities to connect, and collective reflection on how to co-shape the future implementation of the EU Mission on Cancer and Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan through the growing work of National Cancer Mission Hubs (NCMHs). We will continue to report from the sessions throughout the day.
Written by Lena Mkrtchyan, MD