In April 2020 the CLL Advocates Network became a member of WECAN, the Workgroup of European Cancer Patient Advocacy Networks, and informal workgroup of leaders of the 24 pan-European cancer patient umbrella organisations.

WECAN was established to create new opportunities:

• Coordination and cooperation: WECAN provides the opportunity for leaders of pan-European cancer patient umbrella organisations to meet and discuss ideas and build consensus.
• Efficiency: WECAN provides a forum to discuss how and when to collaborate, to share information and workload reporting back to the group to increase transparency.
• Diversity and representativeness: As the number of meetings increases they cannot include a representative of all key indications, WECAN provides a platform where organisations can share information and a collective voice.
• Fostering new advocates: WECAN creates opportunities to involve and develop new cancer patient advocacy leaders and more capacity building.

The following three Steering Committee Members represent the CLL Advocates Network within WECAN:

• Nick York (main representative)
• Pierre Aumont (first alternate representative)
• Michael Rynne (second alternate representative)

Useful WECAN Resources to check out:

Patients in Publications Training Course: in June 2021, WECAN in collaboration with Envision Pharma Group launched the world’s first publications course of its kind- the  Patients in Publications training course. Created by patient advocates and publishing professionals, the open-access course teaches patient advocates how to publish research as authors or co-authors in peer-reviewed journals. The course is comprised of four self-paced modules that take about one to two hours each to complete. At the end of the course, patient advocates will grow their confidence and knowledge in the entire publication process. The training course is available at no cost here: https://wecanadvocate.eu/patients-in-publications/.

Virtual Meetings Resource Center: for tools and guidance on how to successfully run virtual meetings.

WECAN Academy Knowledge Base: features key educational resources for patient advocates in the three pillars:  Advocacy Tools & Skills, Healthcare Systems, Policy & Access and Research & Data

Guiding Principles for Reasonable Legal Agreements: provides guidance regarding reasonable legal agreements that adequately protect both parties while safeguarding independence and individual interests

To learn more about WECAN, please visit the WECAN website.