Our members are our compass. That is why we have decided to honour them on our blog by featuring one of them each month. This time, we interviewed Claudiu Berbece, Communication Coordinator at the European Multiple Sclerosis Platform (EMSP), who provides an overview of his organisation in five short answers.
What’s on the top of your agenda?
In early 2015, we started making paid internships with important businesses available to young people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) across Europe through our Believe and Achieve programme. We are looking for enthusiastic young MSers (18-35 year-old) to apply, and also for more ‘equal opportunities’ employers to join our initiative to boost employment for young people with MS.
Why does your organisation exist?
There are 700,000 people currently living with MS in Europe and only a few can claim to have proper access to treatments, care and employment. Our role is to advocate on their behalf, at EU level in relation to key decision-makers and at national level through our network of MS societies, for this negative status quo to be markedly improved.
What is your biggest achievement as an organisation?
Our biggest achievement is to be recognised as a representative voice of people living with MS in Europe. Alongside our involvement in EU healthcare policy, we implement active programmes to identify the needs of our constituency and address the many inequalities in the disease management.
What is for you the key benefit of your organisation’s involvement in EPF?
The key benefit lies in the guarantee of EPF’s unflinching commitment to empower European patients and uphold their best interests in relation to key stakeholders.
What’s the main misconception about your disease area?
One of the biggest misconceptions is that people with MS cannot succeed in the workplace because of their condition. We know for a fact that, with only minor adaptations to the work environment, they can bring added value to any business.