The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) has launched the 2018 Edgar Scene Prize competition, with the theme “My personal champion – supporting my everyday life with a rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease (RMD)”. The prize was established in memory of the late Edgar Stene, the founder and Secretary General of the Norwegian Rheumatism Association, who also lived with Ankylosing Spondylitis.
Every year, EULAR and EULAR’s Standing Committee of PARE offer the Edgar Stene Prize for the best essay based on a specific topic. The winner receives a prize money of €1000, awarded during the opening plenary session of the EULAR Annual European Congress of Rheumatology, where the winner also presents their essay as an oral presentation to delegates of the congress. The winner will also be provided with travel to Amsterdam, and hotel accommodation for up to 4 nights, as well as an invitation to the Congress dinner. The runner up will be awarded €700 and the essay in third place will win €300. In 2017, Stefanie Hulst from The Netherlands won the Edgar Stene Prize, for her winning entry titled “Diagnosis from the perspective of a child“. In 2016, I was delighted to win the Edgar Stene Prize for my essay on living life to the full. If you’re stuck for inspiration, take a look at some of the entries from previous years. The competition is open to people 18 years and over who are living with one or more rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs). The 2018 prize will be awarded to the winning essay on the topic:“My personal champion – supporting my everyday life with a rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease (RMD)”
People with RMDs are invited to write about their personal experiences. We all want to live life to the fullest and independently. However, if you have an RMD, this can be extremely challenging at times. The support and simple presence of those around us can be enough to help us to get through the worse days. Therefore, this writing opportunity is a chance for you to celebrate all those who are around you every day, and thank them for their unconditional love and support, which can often go unnoticed. If you have a personal champion in your life, now is your chance to share their influence on your life. Your champion may be a family member, spouse, a friend or a healthcare professional. Thinking outside of the box, it may be a pet that gives you comfort, support and a distraction from the challenges that living with an RMD brings to your life.