Every two years, our global community experiences a transformative surge of energy, solidarity, and purpose: the Global Patients Meeting (GPM). The recent one was no exception: it was a powerful reminder of what makes IPOPI unique: our people. The GPM is a vital gathering of patient representatives, patient advocates who have transformed personal experience into collective action. They dedicate their time not only to safeguarding their own families, but to fighting for every patient across their home countries. Our leaders work tirelessly so that other families will not have to endure the diagnostic delays, isolation, or hardship they once faced.

Building Capacities as a mission

By convening the GPM, back-to-back with the ESID and INGID conferences, we are proud to be part of a space where the meaningful voices of ESID, INGID, and IPOPI converge as one community. IPOPI fulfils here a core objective: building capacities. Our ambition is clear: we want every national member to become a game changer in their own country. This means adapting international expertise to local contexts, advocating for change, and responding to national priorities.

Empowering: Turning Global Knowledge into National Impact

Education is at the heart of our empowerment. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the experts, researchers, physicians, nurses, and advocacy specialists who translate complex science into comprehensive yet accessible knowledge. Making intricate science understandable to patient advocates is a demanding art, and we are profoundly grateful for their partnership.

Learning deepens through appropriation

We are equally grateful to our workshop sponsors CSL Behring, Grifols, Savara, Takeda, as well as to our supporting partner Fondazione Telethon for enabling workshops where members could learn, understand, and apply knowledge to their own settings, leaving with practical tools and lasting resources. Learning also inspires celebration. At our Awards Ceremony, we took immense pride, great joy and deep emotion in honouring pioneers and changemakers across our community through three distinct IPOPI Awards: the LeBien Award, the Vassaly Award, and the BIG Award. Congratulations to the winners and warm thanks to Kedrion and Chiesi for their generous support in making this celebration of talent, dedication, and impact possible.

Looking Ahead: Governance and Vision

The GPM also marks a pivotal moment in IPOPI’s governance, with board elections that blend experience with fresh perspectives, ensuring the community’s voice remains strong and representative. In a disrupted world, we must anticipate both advances and challenges, ensuring that patients everywhere can benefit from science’s daily breakthroughs. We must ensure that every patient benefits from diagnosis and treatment advances without suffering the double burden of managing a severe chronic condition amidst geopolitical instability, conflict, or systemic healthcare collapse. This is where our mission definitely lies.

The GPM is more than a meeting. It is momentum made visible.