Ambassador news
CancerCampaigns Ambassadors take calls to Cardiff
40 Ambassadors have been recruited from across Wales and tasked with lobbying their Assembly Member for a Cancer Plan for Wales. Many of them met their AM at a special lobby event on 2 July 2008 which took place alongside the Race for Life at Bute Park in Cardiff.
The new Cancer Reform Strategy for England and the revised Cancer in Scotland strategy were achieved thanks in part to our Cancer 2020 campaign in 2006. But Wales has never had a long-term cancer plan.
Ambassadors from Ynys Mon to the Vale of Glamorgan met with their AMs to spread the word about the charity’s Cancer 2020 campaign. AMs were convinced to take various actions, from signing a statement of opinion to meeting with the Health Minister, Edwina Hart AM, about a Welsh Cancer Plan.
After their meetings the Ambassadors and some AMs went down to the start line to cheer on the Race for Life participants.
Bridget McNally, Ambassador for Caerphilly, said: "The lobby was a great experience. I met up with all the Ambassadors about the Welsh Cancer Plan and listened to Jeff Cuthbert AM's passion about getting this agreed by the Welsh Assembly Government."
CancerCampaigns Ambassador Lobby of Parliament
The first ever lobby by CancerCampaigns Ambassadors took place on Wednesday 26 March in the Houses of Parliament.
The sixteen Cancer Research UK supporters, who acted as Ambassadors for the Screening Matters campaign, came from across England and spanned 9 of the 10 Strategic Health Authorities.
Ian Gibson MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Cancer, welcomed the Ambassadors and urged them to get the most out of their MPs. This helpful spur to action contributed to a hugely successful afternoon as the MPs in attendance exceeded all expectations by offering to do more than they were asked!
As well as signing the Early Day Motion in support of the campaign and meeting with the Chief Executive of their PCT to discuss local screening programmes, MPs promised to visit a local screening unit or community group to raise awareness of the issue. In addition to this, a parliamentary question is in the offing as well as a meeting with the Minister, Ann Keen MP, about specific screening issues.
The lobby also proved a success with the media. Numerous local papers have printed the press release sent by Ambassadors and one Ambassador was interviewed locally by BBC radio prior to the event and is due to feature in a forthcoming article in a magazine.
A great deal has been achieved in the forging of our first community of CancerCampaigns Ambassadors, including a new network of support and friendship. Crucially, faith in the Ambassador programme and what we are aiming to achieve has been established. As one Ambassador put it: "It was a huge learning experience which has opened my eyes to the possibilities of politics and how easy it is for an individual to try and encourage change."
